When reviewing a CD, most writers listen for the defining elements of a group. On some albums, the music stands out. On others, the lyrics define a group's identity. But with N.E.R.D., neither the music nor the lyrics is particularly outstanding. The music is decent, though unspectacular, and the lyrics are clever at points ("Aim on you" as opposed to "shame on you" in "Drill Sergeant") but nothing to write home about. Rather than allowing music or lyrics to unbalance the album, N.E.R.D. blends both and, in the process, enhances each to form a beautiful, cohesive album.
Each song feels evenly produced, unlike some albums, where the big-time single clearly received the most attention in the booth. The merged music and lyrics in "Fly or Die" are textured by articulate production, creating an album that defies definition.
N.E.R.D. (No One Ever Really Dies) is composed of three members: Chad Hugo and Pharell Williams of The Neptunes and a man known only as Shay. The Neptunes is a production team that has topped the charts for years, most recently with Kellis' "Milkshake" and Jay-Z's "Change Clothes." Last August, The Neptunes, whose thumping club beats transcend the derivative topography of the modern top-40 scene, even released an eclectic, cameo-saturated compilation with "Neptunes Present: The Clones."
Based in Virginia Beach, Va., N.E.R.D., The Neptunes alter-ego, became media darlings with its 2002 debut "In Search Of." The talented trio wowed critics with witty, libido-laced lyrics and precisely crafted musical constructions that eluded classification.
Similar to their debut album, N.E.R.D.'s "Fly or Die," available now, tackles the unwieldy themes of infatuation and aggression. Innuendo-laden lyrics populate both albums, though "Fly or Die" does not share "In Search Of"'s affinity for coitally-suggestive sound loops.
In "Fly or Die," N.E.R.D. spares its songs of blatant production in favor of crafty editing and an organic style. Drum patterns devoid of the criminal overuse of cymbals prevalent in modern music provide a firm backbone for lurching guitar riffs and throbbing, versatile bass lines. Lead singer Pharell mixes falsetto inflections with lyrically-spoken rap lines, juxtaposing pleasure, pain and anger with ease. Alongside vocal choruses and chants, sundry aural oddities like clap tracks, organ chords and whistling loops colonize each track, giving a unique texture to every song.
Over the course of 55 minutes, "Fly or Die" glides through a dozen tracks examining the mores of romantic fruition and other asides of maturation. "Don't Worry About It," the first track, deals with virginity and the final track, "Find My Way," closes the album on a note of repentance for doubting love. Along the way, N.E.R.D. takes listeners through the stages of relationships, from illicit intercourse in "Back Seat Love" to the termination of a relationship in "Maybe." Pharell takes occasional excursions into the teenage condition, along with Joel Madden and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte, by rapping and singing us through suicide in "Jump," a stoner's blissful view of the world in "Wonderful Place," and teenage angst and pugnacious rebellion with "Drill Sergeant" and "Thrasher."
Songs include thinly-veiled references to Iraq: "There's a war going on outside no man is safe from" ("Don't Worry About It") and "fighting over straws like they were oil filled pipes" ("Wonderful Place"). Space also sneaks its way into many songs with lines like "Her a-- is a spaceship I want to ride" ("She Wants to Move"), "Don't let N.A.S.A. teach you that we are by ourselves" ("Jump") and "I'm lost in space" ("Find My Way").
The first third of the album includes childhood-themed tracks with lines like "This is for the kids! / This is only for the kids!" and cries for "baby," "mommy" and "dad."
"Fly or Die's" only true weakness is that "In Search Of" already introduced N.E.R.D.'s offbeat, unconventional style to the mainstream. Simply put, N.E.R.D. can never be the shot-in-the-arm it was when it first came on the scene. People say the sequel is never better than the original, and that saying proves true in this case but only because "In Search Of" set an impossibly high standard.
Though "Fly or Die" is in no way derivative of N.E.R.D.'s first album, the duplicate mix of procreative and pugnacious themes is not as fresh as it was a few years ago. That said, the beats are still as refreshing as ever and the matching music and lyrics compliment each other to perfection. "Fly or Die" continues N.E.R.D.'s crusade against cookie-cutter pop music with intriguing music and satisfying lyrics that come together in a refreshing, original way. The balanced music and lyrics form a cohesive whole, and quality production makes "Fly or Die" one of the best albums of the year.
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