The musical MVP of 2013, Pharrell Williams, has started 2014 off without slowing his blazing hot falsetto trail. After being featured in two of last year’s biggest hits, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” and dropping major production credits left and right in places like Miley Cyrus’ “Bangerz” and Pusha T’s “My Name Is My Name,” he also produced the Oscar-nominated soundtrack for the film “Despicable Me 2,” which contained the chart-topping “Happy.” Pharrell Williams and major music label Columbia have positioned “G I R L” to be the first major pop release of 2014. This album is loaded with primetime talent such as composer Hans Zimmer, Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys.
One thing is for sure with the release of this album: 40-year-old Williams has mastered making creative pop music for our generation. It is repetitive yet it feels fresh every time you hear it. Instead of assaulting his listeners with full drum and bass beats like typical modern pop, Williams styles himself as a calmer, more intelligent alternative with luscious falsettos instead of screams and more delicate rhythms than overwhelming ones.
“G I R L” is billed to be a “celebration of womankind,” which could be in response to the criticism he received after appearing on and producing the controversial single “Blurred Lines.” Pharrell blends pro-female lyrics alongside slick odes of pleasure that fit together side by side. The album seems like a celebration with women alongside men rather than any form masochism. Instead of the predatory nature of that song, “G I R L” definitely has the thematic element of celebration on lock as all of these songs would fit in perfectly at a wedding. This is not to say the album is filled with all the same sound; it has enough variety to appease adult contemporary taste, be on top-40 radio and appear on a children’s movie soundtrack.
The album starts off with Hans Zimmer-arranged orchestration before Pharrell jumps in with his falsetto. It then gets even poppier and more danceable with Pharrell crooning “I just close my eyes and visions appear / She’s everything I want and it’s crystal clear.” “Brand New,” featuring Justin Timberlake, sounds like it could have been taken off of Timberlake’s 2013 album, “The 20/20 Experience,” and much of “G I R L” sounds similar to Timberlake’s discography. Both artists have experience creating quality, contemporary pop and R&B music. They have both been major stars for a while and know how to deliver something the audience want to hear.
The best songs on the album are the ones that do something a little different and make you stand up and really appreciate Pharrell’s style. The Daft Punk-featured “Gust of Wind” has beautiful production with rising strings that legitimately sound like a gust of wind, as well as a robotic hook provided by the duo. “Happy” is incredibly energetic and very well-known. It is the current number-one song in America and also has a 24-hour music video with the four-minute song looped 360 times. It is extremely catchy yet not exhausting in the slightest.
“Lost Queen” is the most ambitious song on the album and the most inventive. The beginning of the song is the closest Pharrell gets to a hip-hop feel. As he maintains his falsetto voice, the verse glides through the listener’s ears like warm butter. The eight-minute song then diverges into 70 seconds of crashing waves before revealing a hidden track entitled “Freq,” which features long forgotten pop star JoJo. It is very smooth and has quality lyrics like “You’ve got to go inward to experience the outer space that was built for you” and “I’d rather be a freak than not be unique / The individuality makes life better.”
Intelligent pop is a rarity these days, and Williams delivers this with a classy record that will undoubtedly be a hit. Any of these songs could be a lead single for a different artist but Williams delivers an album packed of hits with his sly, ageless smile.
