American composer and director Pharrell Williams celebrated his 51ste birthday on April 5 by offering a new album as a gift – to him or to his fans, that is not yet completely clear. What a strange proposition, launched without promotion, offered on this site, blackyachtrock.com! The concept is in the title: what we call yacht rock (the soft rock sound of the 1970s and 1980s with which we associate Steely Dan and Hall&Oates), Pharrell version, who sings and, we presume, plays instruments (the album is presented without naming its collaborators). Fans could make a connection between the album’s polished grooves and the sound of NERD, the rap-pop-rock trio he formed with Chad Hugo and Shay Haley, if they had listened to what Montrealers from Chromeo, proven fans of this soft rock flavor. These ten pastel-colored songs give off a curious scent of Hawaiian Tropic cream, sunny and jovial, ball And 11:11 emerging as the most engaging. We feel Williams’ sincere affection for this sound.
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