Pharrell Williams – GIRL

You know those few golden moments when you are walking down the street on a sunny day feeling like nothing can stop you? Pharrell Williams just gave you a soundtrack perfect for that catwalk – and for the rest of that warm, sunny summer! The groovy tracks on GIRL seem to be made for the summer, or for those days when your mood just needs a pick up.

The song Happy – the massive hit that had us all singing along to the car radio even when we did not really want to – is obviously the epitome of this. The rest of the album is all in the same style: the bouncy, funky tracks seem to be a never-ending array of feel good songs. Pharrell seems to be heavily influenced by Justin Timberlake, who even contributes to the album in the song Brand New, and Michael Jackson songs like Remember the Time.

Pharrell might just be what pop music needs right now. The lightweight songs that appeal to the big crowd are all there, but the music is well written and brings back influences from the actual King of Pop, which only gives Pharrell more points. There seems to be some trace of identity surviving through the pop filters of these tune: they are not just party songs for people to dance awkwardly to at parties, Pharrell is also trying to make quality music. Despite the shallow lyrics, this is a good album that we will probably look back at in ten years with nostalgia in our hearts, remembering all the moments Happy actually made us a bit happier – at least for a few minutes.

Johanna Eliasson

GIRL is released on 3^rd March 2014. For further information or to order the album visit Pharrell Williams’s website here.

Watch the video for Happy here: