N.E.R.D. is another band I have never heard of, at least not in Hungary. They released their second album Fly or Die in 2004. It was a critical success. Their popularity peaked on this album. Their most known member is Pharrell Williams. Williams and Chad Hugo are also known for starting The Neptunes.
The band enlisted the help of Lenny Kravitz on the song “Maybe”. You can definitely hear it, but it does not make the song great. It makes me want to listen to Kravitz who is far superior in musical talent. Also, “Jump” features Joel Madden and Benji Madden of the band Good Charlotte, but it does not elevate the song to anything more than a filler song.
Overall, I find it sort of lyrically juvenile compared to other things Williams has written, with the exception of his horrible hit song “Happy“. I also found the music to be a simple. I am surprised that this was a success. Maybe it proves that radio success is not equal to musical genus. The album is not terrible, but I did not find anything great about it. It was kind of meh! 5/10.
an ocean roars 