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.
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.
It’s an admirably concise album, driven by a sense of carefree abandon that is both versatile and eclectic.
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.
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.
Girl is a simple, even slight record – and that’s definitely meant as a compliment.
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.
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.
Ultimately, G I R L testifies to a woman’s worth.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
While the immaculately blended pop smoothie that is G I R L goes down easy, its complacency is disappointing.
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.
This remains a commercial exercise, one carrying a bouquet rather than a packet of novelty condoms.
Only a few moments – Happy, the Daft Punk-featuring Gust Of Wind and I Know Who You Are – sound truly out of the ordinary.
It's a fine snapshot of what pop music sounds like right about now.
Eight years after his debut In My Mind, G I R L probably represents the 40-year-old’s last crack at solo stardom.
G I R L may have benefitted from a few more introspective trips back to the drawing board.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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
It just a happy album. Can’t see myself coming back to this for all tracks but its just good.
1 | Marilyn Monroe 5:51 | 74 |
2 | Brand New 4:31 feat. Justin Timberlake | 57 |
3 | Hunter 4:00 | 51 |
4 | Gush 3:54 | 63 |
5 | Happy 3:52 | 61 |
6 | Come Get It Bae 3:21 feat. Miley Cyrus | 62 |
7 | Gust of Wind 4:45 feat. Daft Punk | 81 |
8 | Lost Queen / Freq 7:56 feat. JoJo, Leah LaBelle | 59 |
9 | Know Who You Are 3:56 feat. Alicia Keys | 62 |
10 | It Girl 4:47 | 57 |
#4 | / | Vibe |
#18 | / | Amazon |
#22 | / | Pigeons & Planes |
#25 | / | MOJO |
#37 | / | Complex |
#42 | / | The Telegraph |