ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: The album opens with Pharrell describing the origins of his synethesia before the band whispers "It's time for some action" over a beat that's thankfully more In Search Of... than Fly Or Die, while being In My Mind enough that folks who didn't enjoy Skateboard P's solo debut may not react positively. Despite tighter beats on songs like "Yeah You" and the discofied "You Know What," N*E*R*D is still the Neptunes' Ween-like rock reference move: "Windows" could be the Knack; the verse of "Happy" is like later Morrissey on helium. Sure, the vocals are reliably groan-worthy and the band still seems to think that bridges must stop the groove and transform a track entirely rather than build upon the verse, but if you can't handle these queasy qualities, you probably gave up on N*E*R*D a long time ago. It's hard to say which tracks will improve with time or wind up subsumed by the quirk, but the improved danceability compared to Fly Or Die is promising, and I can't think of a N*E*R*D album that had more immediately enjoyable music moments than this already has.

WHERE TO HEAR IT: Music Is The Heart Of Our Soul has it zipped.

"Most of the songs out there about being in the club are just boring," Williams said. "It's almost like life imitating art. That's my problem. So many songs are about being in the club that you listen to them and you're almost desensitized."

One of the ways N*E*R*D plans to combat this desensitizing on their upcoming album, Seeing Sounds, is by incorporating unexpected guest stars like the Hives. Actually, the appearance of the Hives isn't unexpected at all, as Pharrell produced the finest song on the band's 2007 Black And White Album, "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." Hopefully, once Interscope gets tired of putting "Tick Tick Boom" in as many ads as possible, they can get around to making a video for this one.

N.E.R.D. - Everybody Nose [Y4L via Soul Bounce]
N.E.R.D. at top of class in hip-hop smarts [Boston Herald]
T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. - The Hives [YouTube]