N.E.R.D: Fly or Die

By REBECCA BARRY

(Herald rating: * * *)

It wasn't that long ago no one knew what the Neptunes looked like, despite the fact Britney, Justin, Jay-Z, Beyonce and even McDonald's were lining up for their Midas touch. That changed when the production team branched out as N.E.R.D (No One Ever Really Dies), allowing them rock star status and vocalist Pharrell Williams the chance to become a fully fledged Lothario.

It was well deserved. N.E.R.D's first album, In Search Of ... was a unique bump'n'grind through funk, rock and hip-hop. Amid those shamelessly glossy beats, they still managed to critique politicians and their weakness for money (Lapdance) and lament the sad life of a teenager succumbing to peer pressure and drug addiction (Bobby James).

But even hit-makers suffer from "difficult second album syndrome" and Fly or Die sounds as though it's come off their assembly line without much deviation. Perhaps it's because their sound is so idiosyncratic but now there's nothing particularly savvy about those urgent beats, sleazy rock guitars and shouty choruses.

Of course, they still know how to incite a good time. Maybe with Lenny Kravitz and the Roots' drummer ?uestlove and Breakout are the album's most funkadelic pop moments, first single She Wants to Move is quirky enough to survive the line, "Her ass is a spaceship I want to ride" and they're serious enough to address George Bush on Drill Sergeant. The result is still ridiculously upbeat, manic and absurd - and no one but N.E.R.D could pull off anything like it.

But things start to go wonky the minute brattish punk-pop twins Joel and Benji Madden, of Good Charlotte, turn up on the irritatingly repetitive Jump - evidence their formula is wearing thin. "I wrote this song when I was drunk," Pharrell sings on Chariot of Fire. Unfortunately, that speaks volumes.

Label: Virgin