 Upon its release , the album received generally mixed reviews from most music critics . At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics , the album received an average score of 64 , based on 19 reviews , which indicates " generally favorable reviews " . Some writers noted and praised the heavy use of electronic , bass and funk beats , while others suggest The Neptunes were unable to blend R & B and rock . Anthony Henriques of PopMatters lauded the production , saying that " their signature drums and spaced @-@ out samples sound as good as ever here " , going on to say " [ t ] he overall balance between live and electronic instrumentation is also the best they have managed on any of the N.E.R.D. albums " . He compared the album to M.I.A. ' s Kala as " one of the best genre @-@ blurring club records " . However , Andy Kellman of Allmusic felt the songs " still have a way of seeming as easy and carefree as the moments when N.E.R.D. are simply bashing away … blowing off steam , and talking ridiculous nonsense " . Alexis Petridis of The Guardian pointed out that the songs were " largely about sex " , calling it " wearisome " . Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media called the album a " baffling , obnoxious mess " . Adrian <unk> of Okayplayer gave the album a score of 88 out of 100 and called some of the songs " a dynamic mess " , but noted it was " a good thing " . 
