Pharrell Williams - G I R L
Critic Score
Based on 35 reviews
2014 Ratings: #883 / 1042
User Score
Based on 346 ratings
2014 Rank: #551
Liked by 14 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Billboard
“G I R L,” like Williams’ most recent hits, is a relentlessly positive and unselfconsciously joyful tour de force.
80
Time Out London
The best you can say is that Pharrell has created, hands down, one of the biggest and best pop albums of the year. The worst is that, well, it sometimes sounds a bit Magic FM. Oddly age-appropriate, in fact, for one so young looking.
80
The Guardian

Conversely, the mood on G I R L is celebratory rather than predatory, concerned with conveying a sense of musical joy that's remarkably hard to pull off when your music is this precision-tooled.

80
XXL
Let the man’s hot streak continue.
80
AllMusic

Compared to his albums with N.E.R.D. and In My Mind, this is easily Pharrell's second most enjoyable album, just behind the original version of In Search Of... from 2001. It's fun, frivolous, and low on excess.

80
NME

It’s an admirably concise album, driven by a sense of carefree abandon that is both versatile and eclectic.

80
SPIN

His mastery of those things is evident here, resulting in the most booty-shaking, speaker-twinkling, glitz-intensive pop-soul record to come down the turnpike in years, out-dazzling even kindred efforts by Timberlake, Bruno Mars, and Miguel.

80
The Line of Best Fit

There’s a disco vibe throughout, but it’s also informed by Philly soul, with continual musical acknowledgements of Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall, Dirty Mind era Prince, Timberlake’s Justified and the back catalogue of Chic. 

80
Rolling Stone

Girl is a simple, even slight record – and that’s definitely meant as a compliment.

80
AllHipHop

His joyful voice and foot tapping production makes for a happy atmosphere and an enjoyable feel. He maintains his position as a top producer of the music industry and proves that his artistry is top notch.

80
The 405

It's not too long, but not too short; it's fun without being transparent and it's got its feet firmly rooted in the sounds of the past without sounding like a weak tribute. In short, it's great.

75
Entertainment Weekly

Ultimately, G I R L testifies to a woman’s worth.

75
A.V. Club

The album goes about its quest to please the widest possible audience with mechanical efficiency, packaging Pharrell’s proven disco grooves in agreeable, mostly PG-rated songwriting.

70
HipHopDX

While G  I  R  L is too surface-level at times, it hits the target it’s aimed for. Pharrell wants summertime airplay, and any of these songs could survive on the radio.

70
The Sydney Morning Herald

The tone on G I R L matches the title of the single - it's happy. Williams takes pleasure in providing pleasure on the buoyant tropical groove of Brand New and the Prince-ly roiled funk of Hunter. ''Let's dance and elevate each other,'' he sings on an inclusively catchy record.

70
musicOMH

Yet Pharrell remains very good at what he does – and when that trademark falsetto kicks in, its easy to see why he’s so successful. G I R L may not be breaking many new boundaries, but it’s guaranteed to keep Williams in ludicrously large hats for some time to come.

67
Consequence of Sound

Those who aren’t giving Williams the time of day are missing out on some of the richest, most tasteful pop of a generation. And G I R L, his first solo album since 2006’s In My Mind, is 47 more minutes to back that up.

62
Pitchfork

While the immaculately blended pop smoothie that is G I R L goes down easy, its complacency is disappointing. 

60
The Independent

It’s an enjoyable dance-pop album lacking a central focus. But one whose diffident charm makes a pleasant change from the overwrought wailing that routinely afflicts R&B.

60
NOW Magazine
It’s high-quality pop, but also highly disposable.
60
The Observer

This remains a commercial exercise, one carrying a bouquet rather than a packet of novelty condoms.

60
Mojo

Only a few moments – Happy, the Daft Punk-featuring Gust Of Wind and I Know Who You Are – sound truly out of the ordinary.

60
The Irish Times

It's a fine snapshot of what pop music sounds like right about now.

60
Evening Standard

Eight years after his debut In My Mind, G I R L probably represents the 40-year-old’s last crack at solo stardom.

60
Slant Magazine

G I R L may have benefitted from a few more introspective trips back to the drawing board.

50
No Ripcord

G I R L is so intent on pleasing that even at low points the production gleams, and the slick, bouncing beats exude feel-good bliss in a manner that will appeal to anyone not concerned with the fact that all this has been done before.

50
PopMatters

Pharrell has turned in a dud here. It’s catchy and shows faint glimmers of his true talent, but it comes off like a tossed off, half baked batch of outtakes from sessions where his more impressive music was produced. 

50
Drowned in Sound

Musically, this is a pleasant record, one that’ll soundtrack many a packed yet ultimately sensible party ... But any lingering hopes that Pharrell may be wishing to morally reconcile for his part in Thicke’s mess with something so tentatively titled as G I R L should be extinguished right now.

40
Clash
Pharrell isn’t raising the game on ‘G I R L’ – it’s a thoughtful, imaginative unit-shifter with some sincere themes running through it. But “different”? Not quite.
30
The Needle Drop
Pharrell's latest full-length album has a few bright spots, but a great deal of it is a falsetto-led nightmare.
20
FACT Magazine

Mostly, Pharrell is content to approximate dance floor fillers from the ’70s and ’80s; at his worst, he rehashes the more soulful and innovative material he made a decade ago.

18
Pretty Much Amazing

Calculated to death and buffed to an immaculate sheen, all dressed up with no motivation to go anywhere: that’s G I R L. It sounds expensive as hell and even more boring. 

10
Tiny Mix Tapes

“Happy,” the album’s (nauseatingly successful) lead single, is a perfect example of what is lost in this replication process: boldness, personality, dynamic, cultural relevancy, etc.

El_Bark
45

its gonna be another 20 years before i can listen to happy again

MAN
30

Pharrell, no, why, please no, oh god no...

Slush_Puppy
45

Every single track on here overstays it’s welcome.
They were fun for 2 minutes, 2.5 minutes max but then they just stick around and loiter in my eardrums so by the time they finish I think they’re pests.

They need to leave me alone.

JOJO_Br
60

Pharrell Williams como Musico é um ótimo Produtor.

"G I R L", lançado em março de 2014, é um álbum que exemplifica a versatilidade e o talento de Pharrell Williams como produtor musical. Com uma combinação de estilos que vão do contemporâneo R&B ao funk e dance-pop, o álbum apresenta produções impecáveis e cativantes que destacam o domínio de Pharrell na criação ... read more

BreezewayGiraum
67

It just a happy album. Can’t see myself coming back to this for all tracks but its just good.

BigChungus
60

It's not that bad

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Track List

1Marilyn Monroe
5:51
74
2Brand New
4:31
57
3Hunter
4:00
51
4Gush
3:54
63
5Happy
3:52
61
6Come Get It Bae
3:21
62
7Gust of Wind
4:45
feat. Daft Punk
81
8Lost Queen / Freq
7:56
59
9Know Who You Are
3:56
62
10It Girl
4:47
57
Total Length: 46 minutes

Year End Lists

#4/Vibe
#18/Amazon
#22/Pigeons & Planes
#25/MOJO
#37/Complex
#42/The Telegraph
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Added on: February 19, 2014