FUSE TV - Pharrell's 'G I R L': A Track-by-Track Breakdown

UPDATE: G I R L sold 112,000 copies in its first week, good for No. 2 on this week's album chart behind Rick Ross' Mastermind.

Even as recently as last year, a new solo album from Pharrell seemed more of a vague idea than a reality. But coronations—be it on end-of-year album lists or the GRAMMYs or an Oscar nomination—bled into his biggest solo smash ever, and all of a sudden here we are sitting with his new full-length G I R L, which you can stream right this second. Here are our impressions of each song after giving the album a few spins.

1. "Marilyn Monroe"

In case you had forgotten that G I R L is called G I R L before pressing play, "Marilyn Monroe" will remind you. Over tightly coiled guitar licks and strings from Hans Zimmer, Pharrell puts his lady over Cleopatra, Joan of Arc and, of course, Marilyn Monroe. The opener functions almost as a title track, as there’s a coda where Pharrell chants "girl." G I R L, thankfully, gets funkier from here: The strings on this track are a bit too chintzy for their own good.

2. "Brand New" ft. Justin Timberlake

Considering the presence of Justin Timberlake—who relegated Pharrell to bonus track status on the first edition of The 20/20 Experience—on "Brand New," the song opening with exaggerated beatboxing and animal imitations almost reads as a subliminal diss at Timbaland. The track continues as one of G I R L’s most beguiling: "Doot-doot-doot" backing vocals race to keep up with punchy horns, and though it shouldn’t totally work, "Brand New" really congeals. It doesn't hurt that it also has one of the album’s best lines: "You got me feeling brand new / Like the tag’s still on me."

3. Hunter

Like "Brand New," "Hunter" typifies an album that's a straightforward throwback LP with slightly bizarre (and sometimes puzzling) flourishes. While the previous two tracks are produced to feel like gleaming luxury cars, "Hunter" is meant to be dirtier and livelier. Pharrell is singing noticeably further away from his microphone, putting the interplay between the popping bassline and jagged guitar lines right in the spotlight. But that’s with good reason: "Hunter" has the album’s best groove. It's a playful thing that makes the Duck Dynasty-reference in the bridge goofy and endearing instead of just stupid.

4. Gush

"Gush" is the first song on G I R L that is more disco than funk or soul. There are the scraping riffs we’ve heard across the record so far, but here they’re softened up by strings that hit the track like a kiss on the cheek. The hook, which calls back to his Busta Rhymes collaboration "Light Ya Ass on Fire," isn’t one of G I R L’s strongest, but overall "Gush" feels like the point where Pharrell’s vision comes together completely.