Anti (2016)

Superstar Rihanna's eighth studio album is one more brick in a wall of hits for a career dating back to 2005. The album spawned four singles (three top 10s in the US, including the #1 "Work"), went triple-platinum and counting, and maintained Rihanna's status within the ranks of artists whose fans will follow them across the bewildering field of streaming services. But even so she remains an unknown quantity to me and I've had a hard time getting a bead on the 50-minute 16-track whole of this album. I suspect that's related to the fact that there are literally dozens of songwriters and producers represented here, each with their individualized baggage of musical influence. But even in spite of the unruly range the album is full of surprise pleasures, on shuffle, in mixes, and even straight through as given. I should say it's another album I came to by way of singles—it's wonderful what streaming services have done for organized listening nowadays, though I worry how problematic they are for artists. "Work" seemed to be aimed at and speaking for people in monotonous jobs, which might account for its popularity, but mostly it sounded monotonous to me, except where it turns into a Drake track. Two other singles, "Needed Me" and "Kiss It Better" (released on the same day), work a little better, more as mood pieces with sound effects. "Kiss It Better" notably benefits from an appearance by Extreme guitar player Nuno Bettencourt. But "Love on the Brain" was ultimately the big winner for me on Anti. I see it described as doo-wop quite often but if anything it reminds me of the doo-wop that turned into what Motown recorded in the early '60s—a slower, smokier Marvelettes, to put a fine point on it. But the Marvelettes, Rihanna, and doo-wop would make an interesting jumble on a Venn diagram, so all good. In sequencing, it's also the best part of the album, followed by "Higher," which takes it down the road in a slightly drunken direction (Rihanna was reportedly sipping whiskey for the song's session). Then the next song, "Close to You," also fits, though moving more in the directions of lounge. "Goodnight Gotham" returns to the downtempo precincts that more frequently populate the songs in this set. Some other good ones here include "Desperado," an admirable contribution to the "desperado" shelf of rock 'n' roll and its kin. "Same Ol' Mistakes" is by far the longest at 6:37, occasionally ambling and losing it way but its throbbing bass and bruised air are often lovely. It's probably best to keep focus on Anti at the level of individual songs. I've listened to it a dozen times or more, still don't have much sense of it as a whole album, and may never.