MUSIC REVIEWS
Nelly Furtado - Loose
David Allun Jones
A side-by-side comparison of the two music videos that accompany Furtado’s debut single, “I’m Like A Bird” and her current smash “Promiscuous” would suggest that the charming poetic pixie of before was in the midst of the requisite slutty transformation all female pop singers seem to endure. But don’t let the hip-pop gloss of the addictive club banger, or the salacious title of her third album fool you. Loose isn’t the product of some extreme “dirrty”-like makeover, but instead finds a revitalized Nelly tapping into the ‘80’s urban/ new wave sounds that shaped her youth and hooking up with Timbaland for one of the most exciting singer/ producer pairings this side of Gwen and Pharrell.
As established on previous stand-out collaborations (“Get Ur Freak On (Remix)” and Miss Jade’s “Ching Ching”), the chemistry between Tim and Nelly is intoxicating. Both are able to take each other to exotic, new heights it would be hard seeing them achieve with others. Remaining true to the worldly sounds that have so far fueled her unique catalogue, Timbaland conjures up numbing sonics that freely experiment in genre-bending, time-twisting delight. “Promiscuous”’ wavy Middle Eastern riff, flirtatious gender-squabble raps, and monolithic synthesizers ripped straight from “Purple Rain” is a perfect example of the kind of gleeful musical assimilation found here. “Maneater” bursts at the seams with an industrial grunge roar, earth shattering drums and cold talk-raps all in a grimy revamping of Hall & Oates’ dire warning of a cunning woman on the prowl (“She’s a man eater/ Make you buy cars/ Make you cut cards/ Make you fall real hard in love”) while “No Hay Igual” nearly flips over itself in captivating foreign chants, distant flutes and loose-limbed reggaeton relentlessness and “Do It” uses early Madonna as it’s bubbly dance-pop muse. It’s somewhat jarring to hear Nelly in such a beat-heavy way, but she thankfully sounds just at home here as she does on the more folksy singer-songwriter records found on her first two albums.
Amidst all the overwhelming excitement brought up by Timbaland, Furtado does at times turn out to be the weak link on her own album. Her fondness for introspection kills away some of the fun-filled energy, as does her paper-thin warbling which rivals Jennifer Lopez in ear-splitting irritancy. She also opts on including two more straight-forward tracks helmed by other producers which, despite being fine works themselves, never quite gel with their polyrhythmic surroundings. All this nips at Loose being the classic dance-pop collection it could be, but even with its flaws, much of the inspired album jumpstarts what had become languid careers for both Timbaland and Furtado, bringing them back into public consideration in a much-fabulous way.
