Rated - LOUD.

Once upon a time, I dismissed Rihanna’s musical merit, that was until last year’s stunning Rated R, which features some of the best songs of 2009/2010, ‘Russian Roulette’ and ‘Fire Bomb’ to name two. The album was dark, brooding and contained material covering suicide, sex and swagger. Now, just one year on, Rihanna’s back with Loud, a step back to her days as a pure pop artist. Ditching the sharp edge of its predecessor, Loud is a delicious collection of uptempo dance numbers and great vocal moments for a singer whose talent has frequently been questioned.

Opener, ‘S&M’, is guilt free electro-dance pop about dirty sex. Rihanna sings, ‘I may be bad but I’m perfectly good at it, sex in the air I don’t care, I love the smell of it...’ in a sexually predatory purr. New single ‘What’s My Name?’ is sumptuous, West Indian flavoured, r’n’b and with its “oh na na” hook it is a well deserved hit. Lead single ‘Only Girl (In the World)’, is a colossal orgasm of a dance track and the album’s highlight. It features some of Rihanna’s most convincing vocals and the Stargate production would make David Guetta brown his Calvin Kleins. Avril Lavigne sampling ‘Cheers (I’ll Drink to That)’ is destined to become a party anthem and is one of the Bajan beauty’s most original moments. ‘Man Down’, a Bob Marley inspired reggae infusion burgeoning with gun metaphors, is another superb, reggae style, song. It’s clear that Rihanna is pulling her roots back into her musical folds.

‘Complicated’ and ‘Fading’ are strong songs about mixed messages and failing relationships, and the hip-hop beats of Nicki Minaj duet ‘Raining Men’ are annoying at first, but become irresistible. The vibe of Loud slips slightly with ‘Skin’, a grower that would have sat more comfortably with the rocky concept of Rated R.

Loud isn’t just about big beats, no sir. There are two lovely ballads in the form of ‘California King Bed’ and the stunning ‘Love the Way You Lie (part 2)’. The former has Rihanna blasting out some notes unheard of in her past register and the latter is more stripped down than the rest of the album. It’s a step forward from the rap heavy ‘part 1’, with Rihanna taking the helm. These are two pretty significant moments on the album, standing out amongst all the club ready dance tracks and showing off Rihanna’s vocal development.

This is quite a big moment in Rihanna’s career. Rated R was stamped as a flop (even though it sold millions) in comparison to her enormous hit Good Girl, Gone Bad. Loud succeeds by landing in two different places. Firstly, it stands between the two aforementioned albums, featuring lots of dance-pop a la ‘Please Don’t Stop the Music’ laced with the dark tones that made Rated R such an interesting album. It also leaps over its predecessor and re-establishes Rihanna as a true commercial pop artist.

It will please those put off by her last endeavor, and will probably win her some new fans (thanks to ‘Only Girl’). With a ‘loud’ new look and a new tour, this release is sure to enhance her status as a live act and make the production value of her shows erupt. Containing some quite brilliant pop music, Loud is the ‘success’ Rihanna’s been waiting for after the polarizing effect of Rated R. So pop it in and do as the album title suggests; turn your volume up, because you’re in for a treat.

4.5/5