The She Wolf is back. It’s been five years since her last English language album ‘She Wolf’ and now Shakira Shakira (Wyclef klaxon) returns with a new album entitled…’Shakira’. By Shakira. See what she did there.
Yet ‘Shakira’ is basically Shakira by numbers, which is
disappointing seeing as that five year hiatus has resulted in no development in
her music. Yes, the self-title may be to
re-establish Shakira’s career beyond her role as coach on the US series of the
Voice, but there’s no surprises here.
‘Shakira’ has all the guitar licks, reggae beats and Latin
spirit you would expect from Shakira. There’s
even a Spanish version of Can’t Remember
To Forget You (Nunca Me Acuerdo de
Olvidarte), but it’s still a bit rubbish.
Shakira has always been best at up-tempo tracks and that remains true on
this album – from the stomping and bitter You
Don’t Care About Me, to the seductive rock-reggae of Cut Me Deep, the soaring Spotlight
(“been busy for a while laying golden eggs”?!), and later the Avril
Lavigne-esque The One Thing. Just ignore the opening track, Dare (La La La), that combines Brazilian
rhythms with a generic EDM beat – all that’s missing is a Pitbull rap.
Yet these tracks somewhat frontload ‘Shakira’, its second
half relying too heavily on ballads. Empire begins proceedings early on with
its overblown grandeur, contrasting with the mostly acoustic Broken Record that’s about as
interesting as Ed Sheeran (even with the lyric “I can get lost climbing on your
legs that never end”). That track starts
a string of slow songs including the typically soppy country power ballad Medicine (a duet with Blake Shelton) and
the trumpet-tinged 23. The deluxe edition also includes Loca por Ti, but having Shakira sing in
Spanish doesn’t make this boring ballad any more interesting.
Most of all, there’s a distinct lack of a big single to
really drive ‘Shakira’. ‘Shakira’ might
be a back to basics album, but nothing on here can rival her debut single Whenever Wherever and its
breasts/mountains lyric, nor the hip shaking of Hips Don’t Lie or the howling She
Wolf. There’s not even a Waka Waka (This Time For Africa). That one of the best songs on ‘Shakira’, the
electro-fuelled Chasing Shadows, is
resigned to a bonus on the deluxe version only is sheer stupidity (it was also written by, who else, Sia).
At the end of the day, Shakira Shakira’s hips don’t lie and
neither do mine. And they’re not moving
half animal, half man like they should be.
2/5
Gizzle’s Choice:
* You Don’t Care About Me
* The One Thing
* Chasing Shadows
Listen: ‘Shakira’ by Shakira is available now.
