N*E*R*D - 'Fly Or Die' (Virgin)
5/5
By: Toby L
Hip-hop gem of the year alert. The loot has been unearthed. Those reponsible? N.E.R.D.
Oh, and as if we're shocked. The Neptunes - aka Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo - are not only the most sought-after production-team in The Universe, yet are also - evidently - the most capable, visionary artists of our age, segueing genres with ease, craftily retaining the usually restrictive confines of 'accessibility'. It's such subversive genius and accomplished songwriting that could reduce you to an all-beholding, clammy wreck.
So, this is best depicted as a pop album. Following the abrasive pummels of their mighty debut 'In Search Of...', 'Fly Or Die' is the party rekkid, caked in layers of soul, thirsty rock riffs, Marvin Gaye smoothness, and comedic machismo ('Your ass is a spaceship I want to ride,' they bellow in shoulder-bopping, recent hit-single 'She Wants To Move'). F**k, this record is so sexy, you'll want to hump it upon instant exposure.
Those songs, then: 'Drill Sergeant' is timely ('I'm not going to war...'), and the pinnacle, which - mid-way through - convulses into a thunderous, male-answer to Kelis' 'Milkshake'; 'Wonderful Place' is a timewarp of classic, old-skool grooves; 'Backseat Love' is more of that amusing, sex-on-a-stick hip-thrusting; and 'Jump' - featuring Joel and Benji Madden - is a stadium rousing, 80s-esque dance-slammer, complete with offbeat thuds and infectious keyboard accompaniment.
Add to the fold - the epic, piano-sporting 'Maybe' (more The Beatles than anything else), the Prince-styled funk of 'The Way She Dances' and the soothing closer, 'Chariot Of Fire', and N.E.R.D. aren't so much as on to 'a winner', as a complete abomination to all that's presently around.
And despite the restless, bulging melting-pot of inspiration, never once is this a cluttered, messy portrait of the trio's minds - rather-more, a multifarious, instantly inviting and engaging artistic statement of amalgamation over stubborn singularity; timeless class over a temporary, scene-shifting few minutes in the hovering spotlight. Or, if we're to-the-point: a completely engrossing, vital listen.
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