So this is Rihanna’s most diverse, sonically challenging and seemingly personal album to date, not that you would ever know it reading the acres of negative reviews and critiques it, or should I more accurately say ‘she’, has had. I understand that you can’t separate the person from the music and to do so would be potentially disastrous, especially for a pop artist, but it seems as though Rihanna’s decision to re-record with Chris Brown, as she has done here, means that everything else about this album, however good or interesting, ceases to count; “So let’s punish her even more by either completing ignoring or trashing her work” seems to be the message of some of the more supposedly ‘intelligent’, left-wing media. I of course have an opinion and yes it does make listening to the song in question here difficult as I see Brown as a particularly nasty man, we know what he’s done and how he’s subsequently portrayed himself as a victim and how America has forgiven him and it is deeply odd, but that has to be seen as a separate issue. Rihanna may be foolish and she may be promoting relationships which are not necessarily recommended for anyone (if her and Brown are in fact back together again) but how do we know what’s ‘real’ and what’s not and who said she has to be a role model? Not Rihanna to the best of my knowledge.

 For people who have actually listened to “Unapologetic” and the not the white noise going on in the background, they may be surprised. First of all there isn’t an ‘”Umbrella’” here, or an ‘”Only Girl in the World” or “We Found Love”. I’ve listened to this album many times and there are many obvious highlights (the bhangra bombast of “Jump” in particular) but there isn’t a massive, joyous pop song here like these previous monsters that become a part of life in that weird way, creating millions of different memories and feelings for people who weren’t, at the time, even necessarily conscious of it. It certainly isn’t the first single, the Sia-penned “Diamonds” which is nice enough and would have made a better Bond song than Adele going through the motions on “Skyfall” and was actually the first indicator that “Unapologetic” was going to be something more personal to Rihanna, something more substantial but not as instant and attention-grabbing as previous releases. There is something admittedly morose about this album, something insidious and creeping and its similarity to the “Rated R” album both thematically and musically would seem to confirm that it’s a world that Rihanna herself likes to inhabit. It’s a well known that after “Rated R”, which was a moody, hip hop album released soon after the incident with Brown, that there was some panic within the Rihanna ‘team’; sales indicated that the brand was maybe too limited.  Exactly a year later the trend for Rihanna releasing a new album every 12 months began with “Loud” which was shiny, dancefloor-ready, optimistic and inconsistent, the same goes for “Talk that Talk” which contained some of her most explicit lyrics but some of her most lumbering filler too.

So, “Phresh Out the Runway” tears open “Unapologetic” with a hoover sample from Joey Beltram’s “Mentasm” and is an example of the current Trap music trend which combines hip hop, rap and techno or a hard house/core (see almost everything by Azelia Banks) but the only concession to stadium dance here is the David Guetta (who else?) produced faceless “Right Now” and it is indeed horrible; bad song, badly done. “What Now” on the other hand is a bit of a revelation, starting off as a pacey piano ballad before the theatrics of the dubstep-slammed chorus and a hollering Rihanna create something that is immediate, thrilling and completely ridiculous; it’s brilliant.

“Stay” is another more traditionally performed ballad, musically and vocally, and is a smart song and a lovely performance but it’s the third ballad proper that breaks so many of the rules of a traditional pop song that it’s amazing it appears here in this format at all. At nearly 7 minutes long, “Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary” changes gear abruptly around the 2 minute mark morphing into a different song completely and has a central performance from Rihanna which is both heartfelt and moving (‘I’m from the left side of an island and I can’t believe this many people know my name, Mother Mary I swear I want to change’) and reminds me of what Madonna was once trying to achieve on her career-defining “Like A Prayer” album. Rihanna is of course the closet thing we have now to the one-time Queen of MTV (they showed pop videos once upon a time you know) and all things Female Pop, both presenting new versions of themselves for each subsequent release and gradually encouraging rage and hostility within the media in conjunction with a fascination and obsession.

Two tracks here don’t have any beats at all (the mood jazz of “Get It Over With” and reggae chugging “No Love Allowed”) and “Numb” is a dark, dubby ode to something that has rendered both her and Eminem incapacitated and  would sound right at home on Grace Jones’ “Hurricane” album. There are some weaker moments but for once they’re in the minority; “Loveeeeeeeee Song” is extremely dull, “Lost in Paradise” never quite settles on a convincing melody and “Pour It Up” is morbid, macho hip hop. The aforementioned controversial duet between Rihanna and Brown, “Nobody’s Business”, is actually ok, a breezy, mid tempo Bobby Brown-ish “Two Can Play That Game” swinger.

So my advice is to try and listen to this album if you can and more than just once or twice as, surprisingly for an artist who is still considered to be disposable, Rihanna’s complex seventh album rewards best after several listens. It’s a sterling, experimental pop album that admirably refuses to follow an easy path and may well be her best, I suppose we only have to wait another 12 months to find out.

We apologise for the lack of audio links in this review; for some unknown reason, Spotify has removed the album.  If it returns, we’ll try to reinstate the links.

Normally I make a point of seeing the support act at a gig; it’s only polite, especially if you get a review pass and a plus one.  Well, apologies to Billy Lockett; a combination of bad weather, bad public transport and Plus One’s hunger pangs meant that I only caught half a song of Billy’s set.  I’ll have to make up for that some time soon, because I really liked what I heard.

The Tabernacle performance area is a gallery theatre above a bar and social space in Notting Hill and it’s the perfect setting for a performance by one of the great breakthrough British artists of 2012.  Natalie Duncan is hugely talented songwriter, singer and player whose first album “Devil in Me” is easily one of the best albums of 2012 and this tour of intimate venues may be the last time you get a chance to see her up this close for a while.

After the low-key entrance, without a big MC introduction, the show started in the same way as the album with the a cappella intro to “Devil in Me” demonstrating Natalie’s phenomenal voice before the band slid effortlessly in to back up this tale of a destructive relationship.  The band dress code was mid-60s smart suits, which gave the gig a feeling of being set on the sound stage of “The Hour”.  The arrangements are more stripped-back than on the album but the four musicians on stage provide electric and acoustic guitars, electric and double bass, xylophone and backing vocals to supplement Natalie’s soulful vocals and playing.

By the third song in (“Sky is Falling”) the audience were transfixed and we all knew that we were seeing something special.  Playing with a small band and losing some of the big arrangements from the album demonstrates the strength of the songs; the album is a fine piece of work, but the songs stand up perfectly well with more intimate arrangements, including solo piano and vocal, and that’s the measure of a great song.

The set included “Songbird”, “Black Thorn”, the great “Old Rock”, the show-stopping “Became So Sweet” and “Uncomfortable Silence” from the album, plus a few songs, including the lovely “Grace”, which were new (or at least not on the album)and demonstrated that Natalie knows how to pace a live set; every song flowed perfectly into the next.  At the end of the set (and the encore) she was rewarded with a genuine standing ovation from an audience that recognised a truly talented performance and celebrated a unique songwriting talent.  It’s obvious that Natalie is feeling more comfortable with the centre-stage position (I suppose supporting Muse couldn’t harm the self-confidence) and she looks as if she’s relaxed on stage which helps build a rapport with an audience which is already firmly supportive.

So, “Devil in Me” is one of my top five albums of the year and I know that Natalie Duncan can deliver a stunning live experience; what more can I say?  If you haven’t bought or listened to “Devil in Me”, then you need to put that right straight away.  After that you need to look out for the next tour on her website or Facebook page and go out and decide for yourself; you won’t be disappointed.

And keep an eye out for a gallery of photos from the gig in the next few days.

Well folks, it’s that time of year again.  It’s the time of festive jollity and frolics, food and drink, happy, smiling little children and the MusicRiot annual Top Five feature.  We’ve reviewed loads of great albums this year and each of us at Riot Towers has picked our five favourite albums of the year to share with you.  But that’s not all.

We’ve spoken to some of the artists featured in reviews on the site and asked them to tell us what they’ve been listening to this year and we’ve had a great response.  We’ll be running those from about mid-December, so keep an eye on the site to make sure you don’t miss them.  If you want to get involved as well, send us your Top Five for 2012 and we’ll publish that too; that’s how festive and generous we’re feeling right now.

While we’re on the subject of great music, keep an eye out for exclusive breaking news on the Radio (in My) Head project.  I’d love to tell you all about it now, but it’s so secret that I’m not even allowed to think about it without asking permission.  More news on that coming soon.