CEBU, Philippines - The Black Eyed Peas want you to dance, and “Boom Boom Pow” is just the beginning.
The smash single sets the tone for the dance-party vibe on the quartet’s first new album in four years, “The E.N.D.,” which stands for “the energy never dies.”
Will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo and apl.de.ap — who ruled summer radio with “My Humps” and “Don’t Phunk with My Heart” from their Grammy-winning 2005 album “Monkey Business” — look toward the future on “The E.N.D.,” with 15 disco- and electro-inspired tracks sure to be the soundtrack to many a summer party. It’s a record all about love, youth and having a good time.
On “Imma Be,” the foursome raps about their fly-ness and prowess for partying. “I Gotta Feeling” is an optimistic track with an auto-tune refrain of “I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night.” The happy vibe and auto-tune continues on “Party All the Time,” marked by a chorus anyone can get behind: “If we could party all night and sleep all day and throw all of my problems away, my life would be easy.”
Fergie is prominently featured throughout. She pines for a lost love on “Missing You,” sings through vocal effects over a Rob Base sample on “Rock That Body” and grooves reggae-style on the thumping “Electric City.”
Listening to “The E.N.D.,” it’s clear to see the group’s break did them good: It may be the Peas’ best album yet.
CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: The band’s message of unity, heard in past hits such as “Union” and “Where is the Love,” continues on “One Tribe,” a track that urges listeners to “catch amnesia and forget about all that evil that they feed ya” and affirms “we are one people.