Rihanna - Loud, a review

For those hoping for Rihanna poring over her Rated R era and the personal issues that came forthwith, look away now.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me."

Rihanna is back as the dance/r&b princess she's internationally renowned for. Gone are the vulnerable emotions of "Russian Roulette", but in its place is opening track 'S&M', from which the above quote is lifted. The tune is brash and grabs attention, and it's an interesting way of kicking off the proceedings.

'What's My Name?' follows and, as her second single from the project, you'd be right to assume it's one of the catchier numbers. The steel drum tune is subdued and Drake's guest appearance cements its hook and marketability, but it's Rihanna's vocals and the chorus' persistence that make this a track that'll eventually latch onto your subconscious. Similarly, 'Cheers (Drink to That)' (rumoured to be the third single) plays on Rihanna's strengths - her slightly nasal, slightly reggae vocals and an uplifting theme - to great success. The lyrics aren't going to win an Ivor Novello but it'll set clubs alight.

'Fading' fills the gap between these and the album's primary single - and rather unnoticeably. Very similar to 'Take A Bow' from her Good Girl Gone Bad era, but with a smidgen of the hook, it's unfortunately a sign of things to come. Because one 'Only Girl (in the World)' is out of the way, it's all downhill from here. But let's dwell on Only Girl a little longer. It's very 2010. It's very wave-your-arms-in-the-air. It's very manic. It's good.

So it's a bit of a comedown with 'Californian King Bed', with acoustic guitar making this more Taylor Swift than Rihanna. The lyrics are cute and fluffy, and the tune is fairly pleasant - but the title and chorus are a bit of a miss. There's another change of heart with 'Man Down', somewhere I can only describe as taking place in a Jamaican circus. Snares and beeps already give this a distinct impression, but it's Rihanna's deep vocals that give this punch - the tune unfortunately doesn't go anywhere and it's therefore wasted.



'Raining Men' follows with support from Nicki Minaj and if you've read my review of Pink Friday you'll be familiar with my stance on her - here she's wasted, almost too similar to Rihanna courtesy of her (R's) staccato, deep vocals. The tune is briefly interesting, but suffers from a lack of progression. 'Complicated' follows and whilst effectively throwing a cute tune at us, Rihanna's shrill vocals make it more uncomfortable than irresistable.

'Skin' is the penultimate track and is notably unnoticeable. Utter filler, it serves no purpose whatsoever. And if you aren't already bored of 'Love the Way You Lie', the track she featured on with Eminem, then there's a role reversal to see us out - unfortunately, I'm more than bored with it.

On the whole, the album is...disjointed. There's no recurring theme, the lyrics are tired and cliché, cold and impersonal. But where it shines, it shines bright - but my advice would be to wait for the Greatest Hits. As is with every pop album, it's a collection of potential singles and filler - and one can't help but suspect that too many cooks spoil the broth here. As is obvious, Rihanna's duetted and featured on more songs and albums this year than I can shake a stick at - and it does make you wonder if she's really focussed, or just having a good time. And given recent events, I think we can forgive her the latter.

Rating: 5/10
Highlights: Cheers, What's My Name?, Only Girl, Man Down
Avoid: Skin, Fading, Complicated