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| Nelly Furtado, Loose |
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| REVIEWED
BY ROBERT BALLANTYNE, POSTED ON JUNE 29,
2006 |
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Leaving the dramatic sex-tart image makeover aside, Nelly Furtado’s third record, Loose, is not a huge sonic departure for the Victoria-born singer. Furtado has fused hip-hop with her world music sensibilities since her 2000 debut, Whoa, Nelly!, and even scored a big hit off that record with the funky, beat-driven “Turn off the Light.” Working with mega-producer Timbaland for her latest isn’t a stretch either, as they’ve collaborated in the past with a remix of “Light” and later Tim called on her to do a rap on a remix of Missy Elliott’s massive 2001 single “Get Ur Freak On.” On their latest collaboration, Furtado hands the majority of Loose's production duties to Timbaland and he focusses Furtado’s multi-cultural influences into a strict hip-pop direction, but also stamps his signature skittering, blippy sound effects, stiff beats and grumbling bass lines onto the project. That’s both the good and bad thing about Loose. While Furtado’s last two records were somewhat uneven, they were full of individuality and, for mainstream pop, intelligence, too. Loose lacks both those elements. Furtado moves from the sleazy crossover hip-pop of “Maneater” (during which she encourages her audience to “Move your body around like a nympho”) and “Promiscuous,” to the reggaeton of “No Hay Igual” and to the stripped-down pop of “In God's Hands.” It’s a confusing record that lives up to its title and represents a huge creative step back for Furtado. Unlike before, she now sounds like the product of A&R, with her career put in the hands of a Svengali producer. Taken as individual singles, many of the tracks here sound like hits, including the aforementioned “Maneater,” “Promiscuous,” “Afraid” and “Say it Right.” But as an album, the overall result is less than inspired. (Geffen/Universal)  |
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