Pharrell
In My Mind
(EMI)
Having spent more than a decade churning out hits for other artists, Pharrell Williams - one half of all-conquering production duo the Neptunes, and a member of the sporadically active band N*E*R*D - has finally done what most of his counterparts did years ago: gone solo.
However, all that work for other artists appears to have undermined his own. Williams' best seems to have already been and gone, leaving his debut, In My Mind, with a sad sense of deja vu.
In My Mind won't disappoint admirers of the Neptunes' fantastic hybrid of jarring electronic beats, old-school hip hop and funk. The distinctively regal jabs of synthesisers boost the quirky atmosphere of Can I Have it Like That, How Does it Feel and Young Girl.