RIHANNA

ANTI

While the sentiments of Rihanna’s eighth studio album are multiple, and sometimes contradictory, the overarching theme is agency: the unilateral power to choose. This downtempo, deterministic slant is the most intriguing aspect of ANTI — her first LP since 2012 — as it stiff-arms conformity and dabbles in nihilism. She’s rawer than Beyoncé, hands down, but more refined than her younger contemporaries. Let’s be real: Rihanna isn’t so much a singer as a recording artist, and she makes good use of the studio here. “Work,” featuring Drake, is perhaps the perfect anti-single; its reggae dub feel, midtempo bounce and contribution from Drake dare you not to embrace it. One imagines that the lyric “Stop thinking you’re the only option” was the one that sold her on co-opting Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” for “Same Ol’ Mistakes”; riding the same beat with even dreamier vocals, it’s a clear standout. Tracks like “Kiss It Better” and “Close to You” are the closest concessions to the pop charts, but the strong self-preserving sentiment of the former — “Man, fuck your pride” — and the rap-infused “Needed Me” should prove pleasing and relatable to her fan base. Songs that make good use of Rihanna’s vo- cal range — or lack thereof — are the key to an album that feels consistent front to back; ANTI is perhaps her most complete and confident record to date. (Universal) RYAN B. PATRICK