Is it a hit, *hit or miss?

N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die  by Dan Grote

N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die
Label: Virgin Records
Hit, *hit or Miss?:  Hit
Rating: 

You have to give it to the Neptunes: they’ve got balls. For their second LP as rock and soulers N.E.R.D., the group abandoned its backing band Spymob and learned the instruments they damn selves.

Do they have the chops? Not really, but it gives their spaced-out sound a surprising punk edge, perfect for a hip-hop band trying to connect with the Hot Topic set.

After playing things cooler than a polar bear licking an icicle in a snowstorm on “Don’t Worry About It,” the opening track, the N.E.R.D.s jump into two tracks about child-parent conflict, the latter of which, “Jump,” features mallcore darlings Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte.

Despite this “reach out and touch some white kids” ethos, some of the sexual freakery of the band’s 2002 debut “In Search Of” remains, especially on songs like “Backseat Love” and the album’s first single, “She Wants to Move.”

Deeper into the album is a mish-mash of songs from the Black Rock Coalition Vibe of “Maybe” (featuring Lenny Kravitz and ?uestlove), to the angriness of “Thrasher” to the spiritual and singer-songwriter-y “Wonderful Place,” which ends with a story about a mother who rescues a baby from the ocean.

VERDICT: N.E.R.D. is one of those rare bands skaters and thugs can both agree on. Between Pharell’s strained yet soulful falsetto and the band’s rock leanings, N.E.R.D. incorporate every genre it can get its hands on and still sound like they’re from the future. Instrumentally, it’s not as tight as the previous disc, but Fly or Die makes up for it in lyrics and concept.

Tracks: Don't Worry About It Fly Or Die Jump - (featuring Joel Madden/Benji Madden) Backseat Love She Wants To Move Breakout Wonderful Place Drill Sergeant Thrasher Maybe Way She Dances, The Chariot Of Fire

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Fan Speak - Your Turn, What do you think?

Fan Speak:

Posted by James:
Oh my god.....This review has, in one fell swoop, taken all credibility away from this site. Awful songwriting, the worse instrumentation attempts i have ever heard, absolute lack of melody or cohesion. Terrible lack of talent shines through on this album, which itself must have 6 of the worst songs i have ever heard. "Soulers"? you gotta be kidding, even the whistling on the soul attempt wonderful place sounds cynical and lacking in any real emotion. this is the worst album ever made. how can you mention the lyrics as a plus? they sound like a 10 year old wrote them. you should never be allowed to review again.