Shakira - Shakira

Four years is longer than the lifespan of most pop careers these days, but such a lengthy sabbatical betrays a confidence that only a brand name like Shakira could afford. At first listen, this self-titled follow up to her 2009 album She Wolf appears to continue from where she left off. Featuring Rihanna, the eminently danceable opener ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’ boasts a crisp, snappy, ska-like rhythm with clipped guitar sounds and one of those choruses that remains lodged in the brain long after the record has faded (to say nothing of the video!) Formulaic and generic as it sounds production-wise, it’s as good as anything she has done in the past, her distinctive vocals dominating.

Despite some impressive vocal gymnastics, the melodramatic ballad ‘Empire’ is overblown. Much more interesting is ‘You Don’t Care About Me’, which boasts an intro reminiscent of the Thomas Newman ‘Dead Already’ theme to the movie American Beauty and a tune influenced by midperiod Madonna. Authentic Jamaican dub reggae rhythms underpin ‘Cut Me Deep’ (featuring Magic), while the catchy ‘Dare (La La La)’ is one of those ready-made dance anthems that sounds as if it were constructed by a focus group.

Elsewhere, Shakira channels her inner Taylor Swift on the acoustic ballad ‘23’ – a decent tune with a memorable chorus. The similarly constructed ‘The One Thing’ is sassier, while continuing in a countryish mode, she is joined on the upbeat ‘Medicine’ by country superstar Blake Shelton – offering a possible hint of a future direction. A nod towards Joan Jett’s ‘I Love Rock And Roll’ in the riff and more than one Alanis Morrisette tune in the chorus marks ‘Spotlight’ as a standout, while ‘Broken’ (its chord progression sounds eerily similar to the Plain White T’s ‘Hey There Delilah’) is yet another radio-friendly tune that has ‘hit single’ written all over it. Also included is a Spanish-language version of ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’ and a lovely ballad - also in Spanish – ‘Loca Por Ti’.