Rihanna

Rihanna is back with her new album Rated R. Lead single 'Russian Roulette' set to sombre theme, and it get much brighter on the rest of the album, although that is by no means a criticism. This is no Good Girl Gone Bad part 2, and you won't find 'Umbrella', Disturbia' etc. on here.

What you will find though are deep, thought provoking tracks, obviously in part as a result of her well documented break-up with Chris Brown. The other huge shift is the inclsion of Slash and his guitars on some of the tracks, most prominently on 'Rockstar 101'.

The break-up is most plainly obvious on 'Stupid In Love' which has a slight 'Take a Bow' feel, and again examines what went wrong. 'Photographs' continues this theme, this time with will.i.am ably assisting to create one of the standout tracks (after Russian Roulette).

'Te Amo' takes a more Latino feel, and sails close to Nelly Furtado, again no problem here, as the track works really well with it's mid-tempo lazy melody. 'Cold Case Love' is another strong, heartfelt, track that examines relationships again. This is a very atmospheric track, that really highlights the strength and beauty of Rihanna's vocals.

'Hard' is a more upbeat track that sees Rihanna team up with Jeezy to near-rap the pounding track; it's still quite dark but has a good vibe to it.

I'm not sure if Rihanna originally decided to produce such a deep and dark album after 'Good Girl Gone Bad', or whether the breakdown of her relationship shifted the direction. Either way Rated R is a mature, progressive album that for me grows with each play.

Recommended.