N.E.R.D.
“SEEING SOUNDS”
RATING: 3 EXCLAMATION POINTS
“Seeing Sounds” is a triumph of will, but it is not quite a triumph. In many places the music can’t keep up with singer Pharrell Williams’ effervescence. Songs shift abruptly midway; “Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)” moves inexplicably from a raucous Miami bass chant to pensive Barry Manilow-esque piano. “Sooner or Later” is sweet, but it sounds as if it were lifted from the middling English soft-rock band Keane. [JON CARAMANICA, NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE]
Alanis Morissette
“FLAVORS OF ENTANGLEMENT”
RATING: 2 1/2 EXCLAMATION POINTS
When she sings a blue streak on her first new material in four years, it makes me feel all bleepin’ warm inside. This isn’t the best Alanis album. With its Mideast swirls, trip-hop beats and oft-turgid self-analysis, it can play like a parody. But there are spots of remarkable revelation, including the spellbinding breakup song “Not As We.” [SEAN DALY, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES]
Jakob Dylan
“SEEING THINGS”
RATING: 3 1/2 EXCLAMATION POINTS
For the past 16 years, Jakob Dylan has tried to avoid the Old Man’s legacy. But for his first solo album, he makes a folk disc about living honest in an era of lies. Produced by Rick Rubin, “Seeing Things” isn’t as word-wonderful as Dylan Sr.’s songbook. But the son has a knack for intriguing double-speak that gets the point across. [SEAN DALY, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES]
