Rihanna - Loud

Rihanna’s fifth album, Loud, sees the Barbadian return to the party vibe of multi-platinum Good Girl Gone Bad, but certain lessons of Rated R still hold strong.

Rewind the clock twelve months and the moody ‘Russian Roulette’ was riding high in the charts. Rated R redefined the fun Rihanna as some sultry and dark artist. With the exception of ‘Rude Boy’, most of the album played differently from its predecessors: slow, heavy synth beats and much more vocal focus saw a stripped down Rihanna. Written and recorded fresh from controversies surrounding her Chris Brown relationship, it seemed here was a very troubled singer; with little trust, but a much more dramatic focus on harsh realities of life. Putting that album back on, you sense the vulnerability within her voice in tracks such as ‘Photographs’, whilst trying to appear hardened in ‘Wait Your Turn’.

All of a sudden ‘Only Girl’ is receiving major burn from every radio station you turn the dial to. The fast paced, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, dance beat hit hollers back to the party anthem ‘Please Don’t Stop The Music’. This is the Rihanna we had known. Reaching number one on charts worldwide, the track has Rihanna back in command of the club scene once more. The mainstream breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the album has not abandoned the influence of the dark period in Rihanna‘s life; nor should it. Instead, it appears to more carefully collect and contrast all the different phases and symbolises some real growth; the sort that was searched for with a certain futility in Rated R.

Loud is therefore an album of conflicting desires and personas: the flirty, upfront Rihanna and the soulful popstress. The opening track leaves us in no doubt that Rihanna is still very much all about the sex factor: ‘I may be bad, but I’m perfectly good at it’ she sings with some new attitude: more passionate and feisty than that on her previous albums. The album is notable for its rapid change of pace and so from such an upbeat numbers. It would seem some inner demons that had been so real in the previous effort have here been released.

But the positive feel is somewhat dampened in ‘Cheers’ and here one first senses the originality of this album: never has Rihanna managed to capture such a sense of melancholy so perfectly. Rooted in a sample of Avril Lavigne’s ‘I’m With You’, the track mixes choir backings, drum beats and perfect use of profane language, so that although positive in essence, there is some haunting aspect to the track. The song is very much Loud’s hidden secret: so poignant, yet instantly forgettable, it is refreshing each time one listens to it again.

The album ends strongly, with ‘Complicated’ demonstrating vocal range, ‘Skin’ a sultry, slow electro offering that is a perfect mix of ‘R’ angst and ‘Good Girl’ flirt, and ‘Love the Way You Lie (Part II)’, a personal favourite that is every bit as fresh and relevant as the original, told almost as an alternative perspective to Em’s track (and yes, Eminem features and packs a punch in just a short verse).

The offering is a definite development in the Rihanna powerhouse. There is a much broader appeal this time around, whilst still holding true to roots and past influences. Whilst at times the backing music is not fully developed, there is a much more even pace and coverage of subject than has previously been the case. With the second single having already topped the US charts and an upcoming collaboration with David Guetta, expect Rihanna to be in charge of the fourth quarter.

Check out next single ‘What’s My Name?’ for a taste of the diversity!

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