Rihanna - Talk That Talk

Too much of a good thing? Hell, it's not always been good. For every great pop song that Robyn Fenty has lent her well-worn hand to (What's My Name?, Man Down) there's been a shameless, tacky dud (S&M, Who's That Chick?) and whilst she's certainly got more personality and attitude than the majority of current popstars I can't help but wish she'd just go away for a bit. Just two years on after the release of her seminal Rated R - which really made the world sit up and listen - she's put out three albums and featured on 6 hit singles that aren't even hers. Sadly, and predictably (since to keep up such high standards in pop music would be nothing short of miraculous) the quality has suffered, and a largely terrible Loud might have shifted millions of copies but it seems with a Faustian bargain.

Faith was restored this year, though (and I do reiterate that it didn't take much since Loud had two or three phenomenal pop tracks) with the release of We Found Love, a breathless chart-topper with one of her strongest vocal performances and tunes to date. So maybe it's every odd year that she puts out a decent record.


We start then with second single 'You Da One', a fairly standard offering from Fenty that dilutes reggae diction with a heavy varnish of pop-shrillness and, far from an infectious Rude Boy thumper it just bounces along tunelessly and uneventfully. Thus the tempo is turned up on 'Where Have You Been?', a ferocious club proclamation that gets a little lost in modern pop's obsession for a grime breakdown but emerges somewhat more mournful than tacky. Single 'We Found Love' then arrives courtesy of a new producer in the form of Calvin Harris and, given my unbridled hatred for Dr Luke, this is a welcome one. As already mentioned, the track slowly but surely conquers those murky areas of your brain that Super Bass probably occupied the month before, and is a faultless dance track.

The first guest appearance from Jay-Z since the ubiquitous Umbrella, 'Talk That Talk' has a lot to live up to and, let's face it, won't stay atop charts for an entire summer, but thrives off a bouncy synth-reggae hook. Hooks and tunes all fly out of the window in favour of vulgar attention-seeking though on 'Cockiness (Love It)' that, intriguing backing vocal hook aside, rather predictably and tiredly begs "suck my cockiness, lick my persuasion" and... I just can't help but think how many children are going to hear this this year and it's just shameful. I might be prudish but it's just disgusting. Sex turns to ridicule then on 'Birthday Cake', a short, sharp and utterly bewildering blast of...well, the word "cake" about 100 times.

Quite why this is followed with the affirming and sweet 'We All Want Love' is beyond me but it does well to anaesthetise the previous 4 minutes of pain. The shift to cliché lyrics like "we all want to be warm when it's cold" might sacrifice a little in the way of originality but it's a message I'd feel much more comfortable listening to, and vocally she's superior too. I was bereft of anticipation for 'Drunk On Love' on account of my reverence for the XX's Intro and in all honesty it'd be nothing without the tune, but even with its tune wringed of all atmosphere it somehow entices me with Rihanna's vocal performance.


The dreaded "give it to me" lyric returns on 'Rock Me Out' and with it little tune or convincing grit, which is rare for Fenty, but this just lazily and boringly churns out another bit of musical foreplay. By 'Watch N Learn' the lack of motivation and urgency to rush this record out are obvious, and it's yet another unsubtle cunnilingus reference. Finally, 'Farewell' does much of what California King Bed couldn't but with the same tune: not pierce holes in me with a heinous voice. Here, she's more restrained and manageable, and that's probably a fair observation of the whole album.

It's essentially all of the last 2 years of her material condensed into their most simplistic formula. The tunes aren't as good, the lyrics are largely sexual and crude, and the 'swagger' (I do wish that word would fuck off) is undeniable, but I can't help but feel a little bit ripped off by what is essentially an annual marketing campaign now. But yet again I've fallen for it, and Talk That Talk is yet another focal point.

Rating: 6/10
Highlights: We Found Love, We All Want Love, Talk That Talk, Where Have You Been, Farewell
Avoid: Birthday Cake, Cockiness (Love It), You Da One

Artwork Watch: Okay, cool, sexy lips. But the facial expression and panda eyes? And with that top she looks like the Tim Burton reimagination of 101 Dalmatians (which will sadly probably happen one day. Fingers crossed for Helena Bonham Carter as Cruella!!!!)