Pharrell Williams Woos Critics With ‘Booty-Shaking’ Solo Album ‘G I R L’

Pharrell Williams is winning over the critics with his recent solo album G I R L.

The record, his first effort since the 2006 release In My Mind, finds Pharrell Williams focusing on his own work with a little help from a few famous faces. Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, and Alicia Keys all lend a hand on Pharrell’s recent endeavor.

Judging from reviews, Williams has possibly delivered an early contender for the Album of the Year. According to Spin critic Barry Walters, Pharrell put together a batch of songs filled with a “lighter-than-helium vibe.”

“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. The difference is his newfound sense of purpose,” Walters explained.

Craig Mathieson over at The Sydney Morning Herald also seemed deeply impressed with Pharrell Williams’ G I R L. Instead of putting together a record that is just like every other release in the pop music world, the producer has crafted tunes that are surprisingly catchy, lean, and different.

Mathieson wrote:

“Stung by the claims of misogyny that circled ‘Blurred Lines,’ he has explained that the spacing in the title ‘G I R L’ reflects a society with a gender imbalance. Whether the spacebar is the answer or not, there is a mellow inclusiveness in songs such as ‘Brand New,’ which has a buoyant tropical groove and a hint of ‘Off the Wall’-era Michael Jackson, and ‘Gust of Wind,’ where Daft Punk bring the robo rhythms.”

Since it’s hard for Pharrell to please everyone, there were a few negative write-ups floating around the internet shortly after the release of G I R L this week. Tiny Mix Tapes Ezra Elliot was apparently unimpressed with the Williams’ record. In fact, it barely registered half-a-star out of a possible five.

“With his second solo album, ‘G I R L,’ Pharrell Williams proves that you can indeed make replicas of your favorite records with these flaccid wood glue leftovers; all it requires is couple Billboard #1 pastiches and something like Play-Doh to re-invert the grooves of the wood glue imprint,” Elliot explained.

Regardless of what music critics think about Pharrell Williams latest effort G I R L, chances are the singer’s fans will toss quite a bit of their disposable income at the album. If his record doesn’t dominate the Billboard 200 next week, then the industry as a whole will probably be more than a little shocked.

[Image Via thebassbrasil.blogspot.com]