Review: Rihanna "Loud"

Let's be frank.  A lot of albums have come out this year.  If I had to choose three mainstream albums I'd been eagerly waiting to drop- Katy Perry, Robyn and Rihanna would take the cake.  This has been the year of the female pop star.  If you've been an avid reader of Wonky Pop, you'd already know that.  What I love most about these three pop wonders is that they are not alike in style, form or fashion.  No need to compare one another - they stand their own ground.  And Rihanna's take on pop music on her new album is freaking fantastic!

There's obviously something very appealing about the music that comes from a Rihanna album.  She recently scored her third #1 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 with What's My Name (ft. Drake), making her the first artist to accomplish such a feat in a single year (not even Lady Gaga has done this).  No other artist has accomplished since 2008...and it was Rihanna who scored the trifecta with Take a Bow, Disturbia and on T.I.'s Live Your Life (by the way, that makes 8 total #1s!).  To anyone doubting Rihanna's talent, you must be headless.

The initial reviews and remarks for Loud were that it would be a return to the positive, upbeat side of Rihanna.  Only Girl In the World and the leaked Who's That Chick were most certainly a return to the dance, carefree side of Rihanna that we all have come to love.  However, digging deeper into the album we find a more vulnerable RiRi, delving into painful relationships of  the past.

S&M (Ester Dean) has Rihanna sharing her dirtier side with us, by letting us know that chains and whips excite her.  This lends itself for another bad ass video like Disturbia.  Cheers (Drink To That) has reggae undertones and a raise your glass kinda buzz, bound to be the status updates of her fans on Facebook (including this one come Friday).  And I love that Avril Lavigne is sampled on the song - could she be how Rihanna got inspiration for brightly colored hair?  Doubtful. The sound becomes progressively slower as the Enya-esque Fading hits our ears and Rihanna says goodbye to a former lover.  California King Bed has Rihanna sending chills down our spins with her honest lyrics about her failing relationship.  It's the cryyoureyesout kinda song, that you know you should stop listening to, but you can't stop hitting replay.  Definitely one of my favorites on the album - just hoping she can pull this one off live.  Man Down, is a ska-reggae infused track about killing a man, in which Rihanna lets us really hear her Barbadian sound.  Raining Men featuring Nicki Minaj has a comfortably familiar sound, a blend of Beyonce and Keri Hilson- which only makes sense being that RiRi is Jay Z's little nugget.  The pace of the album starts to rev up a little with the spacey-beat-ballad Complicated, finding Rihanna reflecting on painful relationships of the past, and showing us know that she can belt out a few notes (my second favorite).  She then slow rides it with Skin, a saucy sexy ballad, informing us she likes it rough.  Rounding off the album is her upcoming third single Love the Way You Lie (Pt.2), featuring Eminem, having Rihanna taking the lead this time on the verses and chorus.

The anticipation I had for this album was well worth it - and well worth the wait.  With a solid album like this, Rihanna may very well break her own record again and hit her fourth #1 single before the year comes to a close.  She gives us dance tracks, vulnerable ballads and some songs to play with our imagination.  The only drawback I have to the album is Who's That Chick was left off of it - maybe on the re-release?  Loud will be dropping in the UK on the 15th and the 16th in the States (though there may be an early digital release date due to recent leaks across the internet).  Cheers to the freakin' weekend, drink to that!