Urban Music Reviews

Grade: A-

Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley first joined forces for one of the most impressive alternative albums of 2001, the uber-inventive In Search Of... Since then, the trio has come full circle. After 2004’s more traditional Fly Or Die proved to be little more than solid (both critically and commercially), the band is now back to breaking down musical barriers with their most satisfying album to date.

Seeing Sounds starts off in traditional Neptunian fashion with “Time For Some Action,” a fast-paced, heavily hip hop track that sounds almost identical to their work on Busta Rhymes’ “Light Your Ass On Fire.” From there, the album chugs along with good, but ultimately forgettable tunes like “Windows.” But then, midway through the album, something happens. Starting around track 6,you feel the Virginia trio really hitting their stride. This second wind is accented by the Grammy-worthy “Sooner or Later,” which is as stunning as it is catchy.

Seeing Sounds may not have the impact of In Search Of… or the heavyweight cameos that sprinkled Fly or Die, but it is certainly their most complete, definitive and mature work to date. It is, in many ways, the album that N.E.R.D. fans have been waiting for.

Tracks to check out: “Sooner or Later,” “Happy” & “Spaz’”