It's the one with Daft Punk, and dare we say, it's far superior to anything on Random Access Memories. 'Gust of Wind' is a rather special track. It's all hand claps, guitar licks and shouts of "hey!" and it's pretty darn good - Miley's vocals sound smokey and sultry, and even subtle for once. Uh oh, it's the Miley one, and it's almost a continuation of the sexy barndance anthem '4x4' that Pharrell produced for Bangerz. Interestingly, it now stands out overwhelmingly innocent amongst the sexual, sensual context of the remainder of G I R L. It does what it says on the tin, and it's still brilliant. P repeats his line from his 2003 track with Busta Rhymes - "light your ass on fire" - but 'Gush' has little in common with the brilliant, bubbling individuality of 'Light Your Ass On Fire'. Luckily, it just about manages to stay on the right side of Robin Thicke sleaze. That aside, 'Gush' tries a bit too hard to be sexy, and that means it becomes quite unsexy. It also sees Pharrell experimenting more with his vocals, segueing from his trademark falsetto into the occasional sassy shout.įirst thought: Pharrell pronounces "gush" as "goooosh", which is odd. It's got more than a whiff of Prince - and, weirdly, Blondie - about it, which is no bad thing obviously. Still, it's better than most of the tracks on The 20/20 Experience.Ī no-nonsense, funky guitar riff leads 'Hunter', with Pharrell cooing about how he's going to "hunt you down" whilst breathily insisting his "sex is good". It's a good track, but feels like it's leading to an amazing climax which never quite happens. A beatbox intro segues into a disco-inspired beat, all shimmering guitars and handclaps, whilst Pharrell and Justin's falsettos blend together very nicely indeed. This is the Justin Timberlake one, and it's great to hear the two working together again. This has single written all over it, and it's only the first track. There's a cracking chorus, which sees P comparing his girl to famous women throughout history, who he concludes don't measure up in the slighest to his lover ("She's everything I want, and it's crystal clear/Not even Marilyn Monroe/Who Cleopatra please/Not even Joan of Arc/That don't mean nothin' to me"). It's an impressive start to the album with the cinematic, smooth 'Marilyn Monroe', the strings of which were arranged by composer Hans Zimmer, and this funky, uplifting feel sets the tone for the rest of G I R L. Read our track by track review of G I R L below. Announced two weeks before its release date, there's been refreshingly little press leading up to G I R L, allowing one to jump in with little expectations. Therefore, it seems like a good a time as ever for Pharrell to ride this wave of success and release his second solo album (2006's In My Mind was his first, and it mainly stayed under the radar of those not already familiar with The Neptunes and NERD). Then came 'Happy', the breezy, simple yet effective No.1 hit which saw Pharrell's popularity soar even further. Once synonymous with production duo The Neptunes, who dominated the airwaves in the early 2000s with tracks they crafted for everyone from Clipse to Britney Spears, Pharrell Williams has struck out on his own.Ģ013 saw the musician and producer enjoy somewhat of a career renaissance (alongside his Random Access Memories collaborator Nile Rodgers) thanks to two tracks - Robin Thicke's controversial yet catchy 'Blurred Lines', and Daft Punk's summer smash 'Get Lucky'.