Nelly Furtado describes her latest album Loose as something of a career-change. While it’s fair to say that this album is indeed more focused than her previous two, calling it a career-change seems somewhat ambitious, even if Timbaland did produce most of it. It is nonetheless definitely worth getting your hands on, especially if her previous work has done nothing for you.

Until now Nelly Furtado has been responsible for some of the most diverse and quality pop of the second millennium, most of which she has left hidden amongst the non-released tracks of her albums WHOA! NELLY and FOLKLORE. LOOSE continues this trend with its thoughtful production and variety of sounds of which AFRAID and ALL GOOD THINGS (COME TO AN END) are the best examples.

Nelly Furtado herself says that this is the first album on which she has paid homage to hip-hop, her favourite genre of music. Whilst some of the tracks on this album are certainly steamier than her earlier work, MANEATER and PROMISCOUS for example, there is no way that any part of this album could ever be described as hip-hop. And therein lies another one of its plus points.

The other great thing about Furtado’s work, that she has continued to do on this album, is that she always makes musical reference to her multi-cultural Portuguese/Canadian roots. TE BUSQUE and NO HAY IGUAL, although in Portuguese are no less enjoyable for English-speaking fans.

If you regard yourself as a fan of quality pop, with a strong sense of individuality and a good summery vibe, then this is definitely the album for you. But be warned, you will become addicted so don’t blame us when you find yourself rushing out to buy Furtado’s other two albums as well.

Written for Entertainment Wise
Photo by Tamara Weikel