Pharrell Williams / G I R L
Pop music today simply can’t do without Pharrell Williams. The Neptunes alumnus is currently enjoying a renaissance following a series of blockbuster hits he produced and in which he appeared as featured artist last year. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you might recall (or desperately want to forget) Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines, two of the biggest, most inescapable singles of 2013. Subsequently, the tag “featuring Pharrell” has become a hot commodity that will at least guarantee a certain level of hype. Look at the top 40 charts — how many times does his name appear next to another artist? Exactly.
With that said, it’s no surprise that Pharrell would want to keep things that way by collaborating with artists of all kinds of different genres (see our review on Paloma Faith’s new single Can’t Rely on You in the Playlist). And with all the buzz surrounding him, releasing a record of his own seems like a perfect marketing move. Designed to strictly adhere the “Pharrell effect”, G I R L is an unabashedly commercial affair with expensive-sounding production and the same sonic elements that have been used time and time again in everything he’s done. Falsetto, check; funky guitars, check; disco influences, check; sexual innuendos, check.
Opener Marilyn Monroe could have easily been a Justin Timberlake song with its lofty production and a gorgeous string arrangement courtesy of famed composer Hans Zimmer. It then morphs into an urban-pop territory as Pharrell invites iconic female figures like Marilyn Monroe, Cleopatra and Joan of Arc out on the dance floor. Following Hunter is a Blurred Lines knock-off whereas Lost Queen is four minutes too long, especially with the lyrics promising “hot sex and gold shiny things”. Also included here is Happy, a finger-snapping, toe-tapping jam originally released on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack.
Collaborations are plentiful on this record — whether it’s with Miley Cyrus (Come Get It Bae), Alicia Keys (I Know Who You Are), Justin Timberlake (Brand New), and of course, Daft Punk (Gust of Wind). The latter two, along with Happy, are hands down the most outstanding moments on this album. There’s also a hidden track called Freq on which Pharrell teams up with R&B crooner JoJo to discuss the importance of personality (“You see, I'd rather be a freak than not be unique/The individuality makes life better”).
As it stands, G I R L is a collection of fun, happy-go-lucky ditties made up of all the snappy studio tricks this 40-year-old producer is known to have a knack for. Nothing new is really on offer, and there’s not much else to get excited about other than perhaps that one Daft Punk collaboration. If your ears still perk up upon hearing Blurred Lines or Get Lucky, this album will be a delight to listen to. For those who don’t share the same sentiment, we recommend giving it a miss.
THE PLAYLIST
Vinegar Syndrome / Mer (Absence)
The rising alt-rock duo of Wuttinun Chamchoi and Korn Mahadumrongkul, aka Vinegar Syndrome, emerged last year with a handful of excellent singles including Koey Koey and Ter Takon Tee Khao Krasib. Here, they continue rolling out another gem called Mer (Absence), which prominently features fuzzy guitars and lyrics catchy enough to hum along to. It’s also worth mentioning that the accompanying clip for this song is perhaps the most NSFW we’ve seen by any Thai band.
Coldplay / Midnight
We love a single that divides opinion, and that’s exactly what Coldplay’s latest offering does. Some say Midnight sounds nothing like a Coldplay song, and some even go so far as to equate it to a bad Bon Iver song. True, the track is lacking the band’s trademark stadium-sized hook and is reminiscent of Bon Iver (with the vocoder and all). That’s not to say, though, that Midnight is a bad single. Like it or not, this is Coldplay at their most intriguing and experimental. Frontman Chris Martin may tend to mumble his words here and there, but the ambient, after-hour synths are stunning to hear.
Owen Pallet (featuring Brian Eno) / The Riverbed
It’s been four years since Canadian multi-instrumentalist Owen Pallet’s last album, Heartland, but fans can now breathe a sigh of relief as the singer returns with some new material from his upcoming record, In Conflict. Released alongside On a Path, The Riverbed is rife with Pallet’s signature orchestral flourishes, yet featuring a propulsive rock edge unprecedented in his music. The lyrics, however, are still as poetic as they come: “The world will forget all the good they have done/ And the world will forget all the good you have done/ Hurtle hurtle over the breach/ Let your body fall out of reach.”
Lykke Li / I Never Learn
The Swedish avant-pop singer has announced her return with I Never Learn, a new single lifted from her forthcoming record of the same name. The track itself doesn’t stray too far from the overall mood of her 2011 Wounded Rhymes. It’s both haunting and melancholic with acoustic strumming and soaring strings that blossom halfway through, taking the whole thing to a stunning finish line. Li couldn’t be more in her element here either, singing, “Where the human tried/ Where the caveman died/ In the sea again/ By the fallen stars/ Only chimes sing again.”
Paloma Faith / Can’t Rely On You
You can easily tell an artist is hell-bent on pandering to the mainstream when s/he decides to collaborate with a producer of the hour like Pharrell Williams. With Can’t Rely On You, eclectic British songstress Paloma Faith sadly ditches her chamber pop sound to adopt the American producer’s signature funk-soul groove. And we’d be lying if we said it didn’t instantly remind us of Robin Thicke’s Pharrell-produced 2013 summer anthem Blurred Lines. Given Faith’s one-of-a-kind talent and personality, we feel like she might be better off trusting her own artistic vision.
