Loose (by Nelly Furtado, Pop)

Nelly Furtado and Timbaland's duet on LOOSE, a song called "Promiscuous," is filled with the sexual tension of flirtation, set to a hypnotic dance beat. Unlike many sexy duets on recent pop albums, there seems to be some real interpersonal chemistry at work on this track. In fact, there's a flirtatious playfulness throughout Loose, apparent on one sugary song after another. The lyrics are unmemorable enough to be inconsequential despite a fair amount of sexual innuendo. Latin rhythms, Middle Eastern rhythms, disco rhythms, and a couple of songs in Spanish give Loose a vaguely international feel, a kind of "It's A Small World After All" for the dance club set. The CD is all about the danceable beats and a sense of flirty fun. If you don't have your dancing shoes on, however, you might find the yawns kicking in about two-thirds of the way through.

The whole album has a flat sound, as though someone had thrown a wet towel over the mixes. Nelly Furtado's lead vocals, buried somewhere in the middle, tend to sound electronically processed, making them sound artificial and remote. It would be interesting to hear her voice a little more up-front and natural. Despite a sweet voice and some killer duet partners, it's the beats that rule the day.

Released on: June 20, 2006
Label: Geffen Records
Genre: Pop