Here's one for the rap crowd. Or maybe it's for the hip-hop, techno, rock, and dance crowds as well? Well... maybe some of those genres are a bit of a stretch. Regardless, it does have a good beat! N*E*R*D is a collaboration of The Neptunes (Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams) and Shay. For this album, they've recruited the Minnesota rock band, Spymob, to provide some live instrumentation. (Though, typically more indie pop, Spymob tends to sound more funk-rock on this particular album album.) As a result, the percussion is lively and really shines as the guys rap, sing, and otherwise use their producer magic to electronically twist the various sounds into wonderful music. The sonic quality on this multichannel DVD-Audio may lack dynamic range, but it otherwise has an acceptable sound. And the surround mix is very active in pretty much all of the speaker channels; however, I was somewhat surprised that it wasn't as hard hitting and aggressive as I had anticipated. Nonetheless, I am extrememely happy with the results. (Note: Regular CD versions of "In Search Of..." that were initially released in Europe and Asia lacked the live band and relied on a less impressive drum-beat machine.)
