Ciara - Ciara

Indulging in Ciara albums since 2004's Goodies has always been a fruitless affair; they merely varied between poor and average. Yet Ciara's always been the most prolific of that large group of early-noughties post-TLC R&B divas that spawned about 20 one-off (or, if lucky, two-off) hits in the last decade; Amerie is now AWOL, Ashanti too, and does anyone know if Christina Milian can afford to eat any more?

With her ten year anniversary coming up and the growing realisation that popstars' careers, more often than not, fail to endure that tenure, Ciara's fifth finds her and her most comfortable genre quite ruthlessly tucked away in the doldrums of the charts. All of her fellow producers and performers have now either resigned themselves to retirement or tentatively adapted to dance single after dance single or the idle believe-in-yourself tedium; but Ciara's largely (let us forget Fantasy Ride please) stayed RnB the entire time. Is that admirable, or naive?

The roster of cowriters and producers has certainly changed: The-Dream and Tricky, who were responsible for a large portion of 2010's Basic Instinct, are replaced by the likes of hotter, newer things Mike Will Made It and Darkchild - and that aesthetic is immediately noticeable on the bold, attention-grabbing 'I'm Out'. Featuring Nicki Minaj in her first of two Ciara spots, it's a fiery, hell-hath-no-fury affair that's got one of those fleetingly rare verses that remind us that Minaj is an incredibly talented and commanding performer. Ciara herself has never really had the voice for cold, threatening delivery, so when she tries to rip apart her ex-boyfriend's new girl, it lacks a certain punch, but the intention is there. She reels in the attitude though on 'Sophomore', a track that seems to basically combine her skin being soft and her romantic interest wanting more for the title. It's well-produced but occasionally leaves you raising eyebrows with its lyrics. Far stronger and a great surprise earlier this year is the high-pitched, chillwave-infused gem 'Body Party' from current hottest thing in pop production Mike Will Made It (We Can't Stop; Kisses Down Low). It oozes classic R&B but - perhaps because of its simplicity in amongst all of the overproduced buzz around the charts at the moment - sounds fresh.

Minimalism in urban music can work both ways, though, and 'Keep on Looking' barely passes above a 'pleasant' (see: boring) listen with its misplaced swagger ("I would tell you haters to fuck off/ but I'm still such a lady") and lack of an interesting beat. Brushed with the bubblegum sheen of 'Read My Lips' she's given a better platform to stand on; pleasant vocal melodies and double entendres about the kitchen floor and cunnilingus make it fun. Romantic partner Future turns up on 'Where You Go', the second of two MWMI tracks, and it's again engaging, catchy and simple. Ciara does a mean Minaj impression herself on the ambiguously-titled 'Super Turnt Up' (it isn't), before the real thing turns up again on another fine pop single 'Livin' it Up'.

Not a lot is left to the imagination on Ciara: she makes rather obvious comparisons to the intoxicating nature of love on the breathy, uneventful 'DUI' and again on the beneath-her Scherzingerlike 'Overdose', but she at least tries to stretch herself musically: the final track 'Backseat Love' is a bouncy, dub-inspired snarler that's a little hot under the collar.
 

The record isn't quite strong enough to either revive her status in the mainstream pop market, or cement her as a critics' new beau, but should've spawned a few hit singles. The handful of nadirs are thankfully small blips when she's so fired up and committed to making great tracks like the rest. Given the recent number of high-profile feuds it might be seen as something of a backhanded compliment to call her a trier, but at least she is one, rather than that one-album-and-twenty-hairstyles-a-year snowballing heap of shit they call Rihanna.

Rating: 7/10
Highlights: Body Party; I'm Out; Where You Go; Read My Lips; Livin' it Up
Avoid: Keep On Looking; DUI; Overdose

Artwork Watch: Evil Ciara's (there on the left) 2014 mixtape will feature a series of scathing remarks saved for Rihanna, the Republican party and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
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