Rihanna for The National

Rihanna 'Loud' review for The National, as a PDF. The stand-out track is this wicked bit of pop-reggae, 'Man Down': the campaign for a full-on Bajan pop album from Rhirhi starts NOW.

On Cheers (Drink to That), she sings herself self-help messages in fridge-magnet snippets: “Life’s too short to be sitting round miserable / People gonna talk whether you’re doing bad or good”, while a slothful drum-beat pitter-patters woozily like it’s had one many too drinks itself. It’s supposed to be a defiant, good-time anthem, a silencing of her demons with liquor, but when she wails to raise your glasses, it’s utterly – and tellingly – unconvincing.