Rihanna-"Loud" Review

Pay no attention to the title, which suggests this time around Rihanna turned to hard rock or bombastic dance anthems. Instead, “Loud” is an album that relies on variation, never sinking into more than one genre at a time. This is an album released on the one year anniversary of her assault, an even so cataclysmic it directly lead to a quirky result, “Rated R”; which was a very necessary move for Rihanna. She coped with her emotions back then, leaving the door wide open for more experimental material. She tries her hand at rock in “California King Bed”, samples Enya on the album’s stand-out track “Fading”, but she never strays in to unfamiliar territory, and mostly just sticks to the R&B/pop and reggae influences that defined her first two albums. Only “Loud” has been given a brighter shine and is more cohesive than her debuts. Even though the sounds are all over the place, they still manage to flow right into each other with ease. So “Fading”, a ballad of sorts, can transition right into “Only Girl (In the World)” with no effort. “California King Bed” with all of its guitar rips and soaring vocals can easily sit beside “Man Down”, a stellar reggae number.
 
In fact, what makes “Loud” such a strong album is its variety. Its absence of focus appeals to the ear just like Rihanna’s earlier, super-focused smash “Good Girl Gone Bad”. It prevents the overall sound from being too same-y, and constantly works to re-invent itself track by track. Rihanna cannot pull off all of the changes, as exemplified in the repetitive “What’s My Name?” and the strained “Complicated”, but she doesn’t fall on her face, either. Instead of being “Loud”, she plays it safe and settles into her skin a bit. Although she didn’t pen any of the songs, she still emotes; she makes the songs engaging, and still holds on to herself, just without the edge of “Rated R”. And from an album that seemed to just pop out of the ground with no warning, it’s surprisingly put together, and it re-affirms Rihanna’s skills as a chart topper and her ability to remain humble, to never let her head get in the way of her music. “Loud” is a simple and enjoyable product that finds Rihanna with a new perspective, and given her tumultuous personal life, is a welcome listen.
 
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. S&M           2. What’s My Name?           3. Cheers (Drink to That)
4. Fading       5. Only Girl (In the World)6. California King Bed
7. Man Down       8. Raining Men             9. Complicated
10. Skin         11. Love the Way You Lie, part 2