The trio consisting of Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo (The Neptunes) and their rapping pal Shay Haley renowned for the tunes they brilliantly come up with have returned with their latest collection in “Seeing Sounds”. It has been a long awaited four years now since their last album and this third studio album of theirs has brought a huge grin on many eagerly waiting “nerddicts”. Yes, the boys of N.E.R.D are back, and as expected, their reputation as the pioneers of experimental music stands sky high. Taking elements of Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Rock, Electronica and Soul, their latest release proudly presents fusion at its best. Just how do they do it?

Not only is their music interesting, their album name is as well, and there is a story as to how they came up with the title.

After watching a program on “synesthesia” (a neurological disorder that causes people to experience sounds as colors or objects in their minds) on the Discovery Channel, N.E.R.D were inspired to produce album three. If you haven’t already decided to purchase the album, listening to songs like ‘Spaz’, ‘Anti-Matter’ and ‘Everyone Nose’ is bound to get you running straight to your nearest music store. ‘Spaz’ and ‘Anti-Matter’ may have lyrics which would make one go “Huh!?” but pay more attention to the drum, bass, rock riffs and weird grooves. While lines like “All the girls standing in the line for the bathroom” may not reflect Pharrell as a lyrical master but more of a disaster, take time to appreciate the beats. This is just how N.E.R.D is. It may take a few times of listening to the album to actually get you liking it.

‘Spaz’ and ‘Anti-Matter’ are probably two of the most interesting songs in the album, and probably of 2008. Completely contradictory, are songs like ‘Yeah You’ with its groovy R&B sounds and light use of a saxophone, ‘Sooner or Later’ take a softer approach which harmonizes piano, drums and guitar elements but it is nearly 7 minutes long and does tend to get rather annoying. ‘Kill Joy’ is another song to look out for with its fast paced tempo, surely to get your body moving to the beats while ‘Love Bomb’ has some orchestral-like sounds and light guitar tunes, making it a pleasant listen. While listening to the album, you are bound to find a personal favorite, simply because all the songs have such different jingles to them, catering to such a huge fan base. As Pharrell explained, they do not care about genres nor the money, it is all for the fans.

We’re not sure if seeing sounds is what we will be doing upon listening to this album but one thing’s for sure, we will definitely be seeing N.E.R.D around and their fan population growing if they continue producing such brilliant sounds. This is such a fun album to listen to and let’s call it a music adventure not to be missed! This is an essential addition to the collection of N.E.R.D fans.

Here's a preview of their album. Sorry it's only three songs, but no point in uploading them all now is there? Go get the album yourself!