The Northern Light

Despite what radio and the pop market think, "Folklore" is damn good. That's what you get when Nelly Furtado does her thing.

"Loose," Furtado's third album, is what you get when she doesn't.

Earlier this year, Furtado's fans got some good news: Timbaland would produce the majority of Nelly Furtado's new album. Late last month, when her fans bought the album, a groan etched its way across the land. "Loose" is not great. Sure, every now and then Furtado comes out and shows her ass and does her little breaker pose. But on this album, most of the tracks are either forgettable or overdone.       

The record starts off with "Afraid," where Nelly Furtado goes as far out of her way as possible to show us exactly how progressive and hip-hop she is. Even excusing the horrible verse from rapper Attitude (who sounds as if he's been listening to a whole lot of Bubba Sparxxx), the song is both silly and lazy. The beat is interesting, but Furtado does nothing for it. Her writing doesn't even attempt to make up for the sub-par vocals on this track.

"Say It Right," however, is a gem. The track features classic Timbaland drums, soft chimes and a synth choir that really lets Nelly shine. Her slow and stunted lyrics give an honest, but cautious offer of herself. The background vocals stand out due to the light production, giving it an unpolished sound that adds to the feeling of honesty in the track.

The British-first single, "Maneater," owes heavily to college marching bands. With its cocky call, no response and slow-pounding drum beat, it's no wonder the British kids love it. It's just weird enough for them to get it. "Maneater" sounds like Gorillaz (circa Demon Days), but made for the club.

On "Do It," Nelly sings on a bouncy '80s-style track €" complete with the keyboard solo €" about something reminiscent of a night of high school romance. The track echoes Gwen Stefani's "Crash," but with less of a dance groove. Although "Do It" fits well after "Say It Right," there is something very C+ about the song. As cute as it is, it sounds like something that was just better than a filler track.

Though it isn't bad, "Loose" does little to showcase the Nelly Furtado style fans have grown accustomed to. It almost does more to show Timbaland's production than Furtado's singing. All isn't lost, though. There are more songs on this album that are worth having than those that aren't. Besides the opening track, the album never goes to shit. The record's quality drops a little in places, and then, as if she knew which songs weren't up to par, Furtado comes back to set things right again. The album never gels as one piece (this is starting to become a problem in popular music), but it's hard to come up with a set of fair complaints about most of the songs.

This album gives me hope. "Loose" proves there will never be a bad Nelly Furtado album. This is as just about as bad as Furtado can do, but it's still all right. It's not great, but I don't regret having it in my collection.

If you're interested in the album, but not a fan of Nelly Furtado, I recommend paying no more than eleven dollars for it. If you are a fan, I can condone you spending up to fourteen.

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