Pharrell walks a thin line.  For years, his production team, the Neptunes, have simultaenously been known as the most repetitive and innovative hip-hop producers on Earth.  While I've always found their penchant for Prince-like reinventions and experimental side projects (the brilliant but currently defunct N*E*R*D, gritty coke rappers Clipse, the puppeteering of Kelis) as interesting as any producer emerging from the super-producer era, the first reports of the album appeared to just be Pharrell resting on his laurels: he intended to make an album with a rap segment and a "R&B" segment.  Thankfully, despite his original dull idea (or perhaps, because of it), he went back to the drawing board and pushed back the original album release date.  Now, more than half of a year later, he's back with something infinitely more interesting, a hodge podge of genres and styles that have influenced his earlier work and are finally fleshing themselves out on his solo debut, In My Mind.

What's really amazing about this album is that this record sounds like what is actually inside of Pharrell's mind: from Stevie Wonder homages (the latter of "Young Girl/I Really Like You") to N*E*R*D-ish confessionals ("Best Friend") to bizarre prayers ("Our Father"), the man never strays from his self.  Of course, that is not always a benefit.  Current single "Number One" takes the Neptunes' recent exploration of hip-hop, lo unge style to it's extreme, even bringing along Kanye West on the trip to the past, but the retro fun gets lost in the boring music and feeling that there was a reason lounge music is relegated to vinyl and Michael Bubnle these days.  However, the music on the rest of this album is pretty far from a retread (outside of "Keep It Playa", which sounds like Slim Thug rapping over Beyonce's "Work It Out" on a mixtape.  A bad mixtape).  "Baby" is Pharrell trying to do his best Prince impression, something he's done before, but never has he actually pulled it off so well.  P makes the most straight-forward pop record of his career on "Angel", though; from the awful lyrics ("She got an ass like a loaf of bread/ you want a slice") to the plot of a teenager going out with a date whose father chaperones, this is at once the most rediculous and charming piece of material Pharrell's ever done. 

Most of this album abandons the cynicalness of his tongue-in-cheek gangsta opening tracks ("Raspy Shit" is particularly annoying, with it's sample of a past verse for the hook.  Skateboard P has obviously been taking arrogance classes from Nas) which will comfort fans of his past work, which was more often known for his enveloping of his persona in that of a 14-year-old's than Pusha T or Jay-Z, who both make their expected guest spots and go through the motions.

It's hard to keep up with Pharrell's motions and ideas on this album, and while the mix of flavors is certainly welcome to those who feared a bland Sweat/Suit-esque record, this album is all over the place in all the wrong ways as well.  There is very little cohesion here and that never takes your interest out of the album, but it often feels like a bit too much and over-production can become a problem.  Also, as different as this album can sound, it certainly feels like a Neptunes record, which is something Skateboard had apparently wanted to veer away from.  Despite it's flaws, In My Mind stands as its own record, distinct from any other Neptunes project and Pharrell's voice is heard here as strong as it ever has been.  The lounge may not quite not be prepared for Skateboard P's musical stylings, but who ever has been?

Overall: 4.5 out of Six Shots