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| "Shakira." - Out Now |
In the past few years, she's been busy moving to Barcelona, hanging out with her footballer partner and making babies. But she hasn't left music behind, as she has been working on this new album and has enlisted the help of hot collegue Rihanna, who duets with her on lead single: "Can't Remember To Forget You".
But let's do this track by track:
1) "Dare (La La La)". Produced by hit-maker Dr. Luke, this isn't exactly a great opener to my ears. I mean, seriously, where is Pitbull? This is his sound. It's chavvy, it's clubby, it's generic, it's been done a million times before and it almost belongs to the Eurovision Song Contest. It will do well in Spain, and it will tear the clubs apart, but this is really lazy music.
2) "Can't Remember To Forget You" (Feat. Rihanna). The duet with Rihanna launched the album, and despite its white hot video, the song didn't fare very well in the charts, peaking at #15 in the US and sitting right outside the top10 at #11 in the UK. It is not a bad lead single, and I'm sitting here at ten in the morning dancing around, so it can't be too bad. The reggae vibes give the song a more interesting sound; a sound that perfectly adheres to Rihanna's voice.
3) "Empire". The second single for the US market sounds scarily like a Tori Amos track. Even Shakira's vocals are reminiscent of the red-haired singer. Most interesting song so far, at least musically. Very 90s. The song is a declaration of love and in the video Shakira wears a bridal gown. Before walking down the aisle she gets cold feet and her dress goes up in flames. Because of course.
4) "You Don't Care About Me". This is a strange song, Shakira sings: "You don't care about me. If you did, you would let me go. You will eventually, because you just don't care about me". Drop the guy youself, Shaki, ever considered the option? Why wait to be dumped by someone who doesn't care about you? The poppy sound is a little Far West-y at points but it is an inoffensive track that doesn't bother your ears.
5) "Cut Me Deep" (Feat. Magic!). Shakira clearly has dealt with some total jerks in her life. In this song she tells her man to stop verbally abusing her. The reggae-meets-ska sound is nice and the male voice doesn't sound out of place.
6) "Spotlight". The song's intro reminds me of "Numb", a song by U2. Pop-rock suits Shakira's voice, and here she sings about living in the spotlight and finally finding the thing that she was missing: Gerard Piqué, I assume. It's another declaration of love and a slight dig at the press.
7) "Broken Record". When Shakira does acoustic, she does it well. This is old-school Shakira, and it sounds good. Probably my favourite song on the record so far. Lyrically, it's a very honest love song. One thing is for sure, Shakira is completely in love with her man.
8) "Medicine" (Feat. Blake Shelton). For those of you who are not familiar with Blake, he's an American country singer and a judge on the US version of hit TV show, "The Voice". This is a country song, and if the sound wasn't enough to make it clear, the overdramatic lyrics are there to give it away. The most recent Worldwide hit that had the same vibe is probably Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now".
9) "23". The title represents the age Gerard Piqué was when he met Shakira. Apparently, their love is so strong that it made Shakira believe in God. Another love letter in the shape of a semi-acoustic, inoffensive number.
10) "The One Thing". This sounds like it could be about Shakira's son, Milan, as she sings: "It's kinda funny when you think that you just got here, now I can't live without you. You are the one thing that I got right". But it could perfectly be directed at her partner of four years.
11) "Nunca Me Acuerdo De Olvidarte". The Spanish version of "Can't Remember To Forget You" doesn't have more to offer than the English version does. The lyrics differ slightly and Rihanna is not featured.
12) "Loca Por Ti". This is the Spanish version of a song that was originally sung in Catalan by Sau, a group that rose to fame in Catalonia in the 90s and ended after the main singer's sudden death. Very good song.
13) "La La La". The Spanish version of "Dare (La La La)" is as bad as the English one. Although she sounds sexier in this, almost as if she couldn't be bothered to sing it. Which I would totally understand.
14) "Chasing Shadows". The only other highlight of the album. The 80s, electronic sound gives the song a nostalgic sound. It has a bit of Robyn and a bit of Lady Gaga's "Dance In The Dark" (produced by Fernando Garibay, who also worked on this track), which means it's really good.
15) "That Way". The album ends on a slow note. Musically, the song is dreamy but still very Shakira, but then again Shakira's peculiar voice makes sure her music is very personal. Unless she tries to go too mainstream to get a hit, that is.
Final score: 5.5/10
Overall the album is pleasant but totally monothematic and musically repetitive. Some of the songs really bring the level down, but then something like "Chasing Shadows" starts and your ears thank you for the gift.
Buy the album here:
US
UK
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