Rihanna: 'Unapologetic' - Album review

"I don't wanna give you the wrong impression/ I need love and affection," Rihanna and guest rapper Future insist on 'Loveeeeeee Song'. It's one of many ballads on her latest album that tap into somewhere deeper than your average slowie because of the circumstances surrounding her and Chris Brown which, whether she likes it or not, are felt throughout Unapologetic.

Another is the set's lead single 'Diamonds', a Sia-penned serenade about beautiful-but-ultimately-doomed love that could easily be attributed to her on-off ex, even if she did dedicate the song to her recently-deceased grandma Dolly. The same goes for 'Stay', the LP's most underproduced track that includes the lyric: "Not really sure how to feel about it/ Something in the way you move makes me feel like I can't live without you" - a line that sounds even more poignant when offset by Mikky Ekko's angelic vocal.

Then there's the duet with the man himself on 'Nobody's Business', an uptempo R&B-funk number which finds Brown doing his best Michael Jackson impression (who shares a co-write here) and, cleverly, serves as one of the album's standouts. Its playfulness is short lived though, if the seven-minute confession 'Love Without Tragedy'/'Mother Mary' - which curiously shares the same producers - is anything to go by.

Elsewhere, there's a sense of last-minute record label box-ticking. The Chase & Status-helmed wobble on the chorus of 'Jump' and a dancefloor-friendly bounce courtesy of David Guetta on 'Right Now' are somewhat safe options; but there's plenty elsewhere (including closers 'No Love Allowed' and Labrinth-produced 'Lost in Paradise') that prove why, eight years and seven albums in, she is still the biggest popstar on the planet.

Tracks to download: 'Loveeeeeee Song', 'Stay', 'Nobody's Business', 'No Love Allowed'
If you like this, you'll like: Rita Ora, Nicki Minaj, Azealia Banks

Watch the 'Diamonds' video below: