"Rated R" - Rihanna.

It's been a tough year for Rihanna. It wouldn't be wrong to say a lot of people probably didn't see the same Rihanna coming back to the front line. They were right.

"I pitch with a grenade" exclaims Rihanna in her sexiest Bajan accent, the hardest it has ever sounded on any of her records. The first proper track (there's an interlude style intro called ‘Mad House’) 'Wait Your Turn' is perhaps the darkest sounding, most aggressive you've heard the ‘Umbrella’ superstar sound. The song is punchy and demands that you, well, “wait your turn”. Rihanna introduces her new persona by exclaiming, “I’m such a fucking lady”. 'Hard (featuring Jeezy)' is some more 'in your face' Rihanna. The song is one of the catchiest on the album and you won’t be able to stop yourself rapping along when a battle ready Rihanna bites, "Where them girls talking trash?...Where them blog girls at?...Where your lighters at?". The tough talking, Neo-Rihanna sings without a care on 'Rockstar 101' and the fantastically titillating 'Rude Boy', the latter being one of the catchiest songs you will hear this year. It harks back to reggae and the dance hall, and latches onto your consciousness like a welcome disease. ‘G4L’ has Rihanna gathering up her “bitches” and she has even roped in Will.I.Am for the bouncy electro-romance of "Photographs".

This album is dark, probably the darkest of any pop star in recent memory. Lady Gaga showed us an edge not seen in years, but Rihanna is really pushing some prickly subject material here, from abuse to suicide. 'Fire Bomb' has Rihanna using a car crash metaphor for her explosive relationship with Brown. "When your front windows break, and I come crashing through..." is a poignant line from a woman who had her face smashed into the dashboard of her lover's car just a year ago. This dark tone allows for Rihanna to flash some newly honed vocal abilities. 'Russian Roulette' shows us a powerful performance from the once timid, lack luster 'Pon De Replay' singer. Her voice echoes all the emotions required to make this a bold first single, and check out the high note in the final chorus (who thought she had it in her?). There are no Leona Lewis style ballads on Rated R. The stand-out Spanish sound of ‘Te Amo’ echoes Rihanna’s rejection of another woman and a language barrier stopping her admirer’s ‘I Love You’ being understood.

There isn't one bad song on this album; it is consistent in quality and has a large enough variety of dark ballads, upbeat dance numbers and rocky, brooding lyrical marvels to please everyone (just not some of her teen fans). Rated R is obvious in its concept, the growth of a pop star who is now a real woman and not the ‘good girl, gone bad’ we previously knew. However obvious this is, it's a brilliant collection of songs, showing the darker side of pop. With songs like the dance floor filling 'Rude Boy', the haunting 'Russian Roulette' and the unique 'Cold Case Love', Rihanna's managed to pull the trigger on the revolver of success. 

Rated R - 9/10