N.E.R.D: Nothing

Pharrell Williams’ come-ons do not improve with age—theirs or his. “You’re so perfect, don’t you ignore me, girl / No need to be nervous, this’ll work out surely, girl,” goes the chorus of “Perfect Defect.” “Touch you, girl,” he whispers repeatedly on “Hypnotize U,” a throbbing near-techno track (produced with help from Daft Punk, no less) that never fully gets where it’s going. That goes for Nothing in general. Williams and his N.E.R.D cohorts Chad Hugo and Shay Haley are adept in the studio; their musical constructs are always polished, and often at least somewhat impressive. But their lyrics and point of view are so entitled that there’s little sense they’re aiming much further than the nearest frat house.