Rihanna - LOUD (REVIEW)

In 2005, she started out with the reggae sound in Music of the Sun. The following year, she experimented with dance-pop and R&B in A Girl Like Me. In 2007, she chopped off her locks and became a Good Girl Gone Bad. 2 years later, she took her music and style to the macabre extreme in Rated R. In 2010, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, better known as simply Rihanna, goes back to her R&B/dance-pop roots in her fifth studio album Loud.

Rihanna has worked with top-notch names such as David Guetta, Timbaland, Drake and Taio Cruz (to name a few) on this album, where she experiments with the pop/dance-pop/R&B genres.

Opening track "S&M", deemed by Rihanna as the "loudest" track of the album, is an addictive dance number with fizzing synths and club beats courtesy of Norwegian record-producing and songwriting team Stargate, who has also worked on the first 2 singles, "Only Girl (In the World)" and "What's My Name?" (featuring Drake).

Trinidadian hip-hop recording artist Nicki Minaj penned the lyrics and is featured in "Raining Men", which was described as a "quirky and funny" track, while Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne was part of the team who penned "Cheers (Drink to That)", which interpolates Lavigne's "I'm With You" (from her Let Go album).

However, the stand-out (and my highly-recommended track) of the album is "California King Bed", an acoustic ballad which leads to an electric guitar track that gives the song a boost of emotion and feel.

However, I have spotted a few songs that sounded similar to Rihanna's other works. While "S&M" sounded like a 2.0 version of "Disturbia", "Fading" is comparable to "Take a Bow".

And remember when Rihanna worked on a little track called "Love the Way You Lie"? You might have heard of it (along with millions around the world). Well, she has recorded a sequel called "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)", which features Rihanna singing new verses, with collaborator Eminem contributing a rap before the final chorus. The sequel retains the feel which made the original a success. Some people may not like it as much as the original just because there are more Eminem fans compared to Rihanna fans, and some may be on the fence when comparing both versions, but I am totally in love with the second version... as much as the first one. If both versions were to be combined into one big song, it'll become one epic opus.

Overall, Loud is a delightful mix of dancefloor-worthy ditties, quirky tracks and raw, emotional ballads. There is something for everyone. Thus I give Rihanna's Loud...

3.5/5

NEXT REVIEW: Ke$ha - Animal+Cannibal. Keep a lookout!