REVIEW: Shakira – ‘Shakira’

Quirky. Unusual. Odd. Not 100% right in the head.

These are the words that come to mind when describing Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, better known as plain ol’ Shakira, who burst into our lives all panpipes and somewhat titillating body movements with the thunderous ‘Whenever, Wherever’ in 2001. Since then she has dazzled the airwaves with her unique lyrics and infectious, often Latin and Middle Eastern infused lashings of hip-swaying pop.

So, it came as a bit of a surprise when it was discovered that Shakira had signed with the powerful Roc Nation in 2012, and would be working with pop moguls Dr. Luke and Max Martin for her next self-titled album. When she emerged earlier this year with Rihanna, collaborating on her comeback single, ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’, I was skeptical, to say the least.

I had every faith that our little Colombian pixie would deliver, but I wondered if there had been a slight push on her delicate shoulders to do this. Shakira has always been happy to not follow a crowd, and why should she – a songwriter since the age of 8, a record deal at 13 and one of the biggest stars in the Latin market by 18: it’s the kind of success story that the majority of pop divas these days can only dream of. So, would this new direction dampen Shakira’s creativity, the woman who compared her breasts to mountains and prayed her ex’s toilet wouldn’t flush on an exotic holiday with his new piece?

Fortunately, I was foolish to worry. The first single, the collab with Ri-Ri, whilst not exactly revolutionary, reflects Shakira’s talents beautifully, with an solid, exotic melody, a throaty, seductive delivery by the woman herself, and even boasts a rather impressive vocal from the Bajan pop princess. Second single ‘Empire’ takes us back to Shakira’s roots, boasting a monstrous chorus and channelling an early Alanis Morissette with the soaring, passionate fury of Shakira’s vocals gliding effortlessly over the tinkling piano and rumbling guitars.

One thing that has always set apart Shakira from the other female artists has been her intimate and often candid honesty, and this album is no exception. Several songs have been written for her partner, footballer Gerard Piqué, in which she makes no apologies. ‘Broken Record’ sees her begging her beau to see that he’s the one – ‘I don’t need to keep looking/ My search is done’ -, whilst ’23’ is a touching account of their first meeting right up until the birth of her first child, and even includes baby Milan’s gurgles at the conclusion of the track. Even the album’s most obvious wannabe hit, ‘Dare’ – an anthemic dancefloor stormer that Pitbull wouldn’t have turned his nose up at – is saved by Shakira’s cheeky delivery and lyrical wizardry – ‘Let’s not recover from the hangover/ When your eyes got me drunk, I was sober.’

Even when it comes to purely making great music, she’s right up there with the best of them, and her ability to play on her versatility whilst maintaining her artistic integrity is boundless. ‘You Don’t Care About Me’ is filled to the brim with a pain, confusion and bewilderment that is almost palpable yet is wrapped sweetly in a catchy, effortless rhythmic bassline, ‘Cut Me Deep’ sees her flirting with reggae-pop, collaborating alongside the smooth vocal stylings of MAGIC!, and in perhaps the biggest moment of the album, yodels alongside her ‘The Voice’ co-mentor Blake Shelton in the bombastic, wounded country power balled ‘Medicine’. It’s a little jarring to hear the woman that gave us ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ and ‘Waka Waka’ spitting out frank lines like, ‘I don’t reach for the bottle of whiskey/ No, you won’t see me popping the pills’, but it’s just another chapter of her illustrious musicianship.

‘Shakira’ isn’t a perfect album, by any means. It’s a little too ballad heavy and acoustic driven, especially coming from a woman who could make the dead want to dance – ‘She Wolf’ and ‘Loca’, remember them? – and one or two more uptempos certainly wouldn’t have done the album any harm, like the impeccable, 80’s synthpop wonder of the bonus track ‘Chasing Shadows’, which was inexplicably left off the main tracklisting. However, massive respect and kudos are still due for her. Under the power and influence of Jay-Z and the like, she could’ve easily tread down the route of mediocrity and become a second-hand Rihanna. But she didn’t. Because you know, that when it comes to truth or dare on the dancefloor, this beauty’s going to pick ‘dare’ every time. And good on her.