Rihanna
‘Anti’
★★ ½
In the past four years, it seems as though Rihanna has gone from “Unapologetic” to uncertain. Tours have been pulled and rescheduled, underwhelming singles such as “American Oxygen” and “FourFiveSeconds” have failed to capture the zeitgeist in the same way as past efforts, and numerous rumored release dates for eighth album “Anti” have come and gone.
Finally, the long-delayed collection arrived in typically clumsy fashion on Wednesday night via TIDAL, where it was leaked and is now being streamed and given away for free in limited numbers. It’s no surprise to hear more confusion running through the album.
The 27-year-old star casts her stylistic net wider than she has ever done before with tracks such as the jarring “Woo” in which she sings about “fiending on the yayo” while her current beau, rapper Travis Scott, contributes distorted warbles to complete the heady, intoxicated feel. “Kiss it Better” is one of the best Ri-Ri songs for years, but that too feels doused heavily in narcotics thanks to its ‘80s synth-rock production and guitar lines.
As if that wasn’t enough, she also throws in a faithful cover of “Same Ol’ Mistakes,” originally by saucer-eyed Australian psych-rockers the Tame Impala (who originally called it “New Person, Same Old Mistakes”). It’s a solid version of a great song, but given the dozens of original songs that were considered for inclusion on “Anti,” it’s bewildering to find this making the cut.
Just when the darkness seems to have gripped “Anti,” Rihanna gradually throws some light into the mix. “Never Ending” channels Dido’s “Thank You” subtly into its acoustic melody, while “Love on the Brain” sounds like a lost girl-group classic unearthed from Phil Spector’s private archives. The finale “Close to You” sees Rihanna ditching the sex and drugs haze in favor of a tender piano ballad that is one sickly-sweet couplet away from being in Adele territory. Older fans will clutch these songs as comforting reminders of the good girl before she went bad, but Rihanna herself sounds less convincing in these moments.
The experiments on “Anti” are reminiscent of Beyonce’s career reinvention with her self-titled 2013 album but overall, Rihanna doesn’t muster the same level of commitment. Ultimately, that leaves the Barbadian sounding unsure of which direction to go in, and trying to hedge her bets on most of them.