 |
N.E.R.D.
Fly or Die
label:
Virgin Records
released: 03.23.04
our score: 4.5 out of 5.0
|
Some people
hate it when a group or artist changes. For some reason when they
pick up the new album, pop it in, and get their first listen,
they react like "Dude...what is this?! This isn't what I
liked!" That reaction is impossible with Fly or Die,
unless, of course, you have no taste for amazing music. Quirky,
light here, dark there, sexy, envious, conscious, and insightful.
Oh yeah, Fly or Die rocks, and is NOT like In Search
Of....
N.E.R.D. has
abondoned the over-used-and-no-longer-cool-or-creative rap-rock
approach. Fly or Die is all rock. And it's fuckin' cool.
I'm not talkin' your head bangin rock, and I'm not talking pop-rock,
soft rock, or classic rock, but it has elements of all of them.
They toss in a bit of funk flavor for a bit of spice.
The thing
that makes this album so interesting is how N.E.R.D. maintains
the edge and attitude of rap without using one rap beat or one
rap delivery. The sex is definitely still present, courtesy
of "Don't Worry About It", "Backseat Love",
and "She Wants to Move". The last of the three being
what single guys at a club think when they see a fine-ass honey
dancing and her dude just sittin' there...and what guys dancing
with their girl think the other guys are thinking when they see
them hawking their girl.
Fly or
Die
contains plenty of late-teen, early 20-something angst. "Jump"
addresses parental/emotional issues, while "Drill Sargeant"
tackles war and Big Brother.
Ahh, and then
later on there is "Wonderful Place." It opens with a
little whistle chorus that is impossible to not get stuck in your
head and whistle all day. Actually, most tracks will do that to
you...whatever song you end your listening on will probably be
stuck in your head for quite some time.
Again, N.E.R.D.
has delivered someting fresh and positive for music. It's as though
they read all the reviews of In Search of... and rethought
what they were doing and tweaked out what they had to. Now they've
got one fine-oiled music machine, and damn it's fun to ride!
18-Apr-2004
8:26 AM
If you
liked In Search Of...
|
| Disc
Details |
| Tracklist:
1.
Don't Worry About It
2. Fly or Die
3. Jump
4. Backseat Love
5. She Wants to Move
6. Breakout
7. Wonderful Place
8. Drill Sargeant
9. Thrasher
10. Maybe
11. The Way She Dances
12. Chariot of Fire |
|
|
 |
|
