Pharrell Williams might not be the sought after producer he was 10 years ago, but his N.E.R.D. project has proved to be surprisingly enduring, and the band’s fourth album, Nothing, is set for release later this year. Here, they perform “Party People” and “Hot-N-Fun” (which will presumably feature on Nothing) on the huge outdoor stage at Jimmy Kimmel’s show in Los Angeles.
Both tracks are ultimately lightweight party tunes that fit with the N.E.R.D. credo but aren’t really an advance on anything else we’ve heard from the band. The live show is grandiose, with two drummers, dancers and plenty of attempts to get the audience involved—it just leaves a nagging feeling that Pharrell is on auto-pilot and is capable of doing something so much better than this.
