Nelly Furtado
The Ride

It's 2006. In the pop realm, the novelty is Timbaland, an overused producer who crams everything that comes his way with his usual established style; pounding percussion, the atmosphere of a sweaty, crowded nightclub, and little "eeh" "ooh" choruses to adorn it all.

Reconsidering it ten years later, it was an inexplicable trend. And just that year, the aforementioned Timbaland crossed paths with the then-upcoming Nelly Furtado. Having exploded with her first album "Whoa, Nelly!" (a good idea to present a sober and sunny image and infuse her pop with world music and folk, while all the other "colleagues" began to realize that the sex/electronic pop combo was a hot seller), the lovely Nelly made a sudden U-turn and transformed into precisely what she hadn't been up until then. Needless to say, it was a huge success, cemented by the super single "Say It Right" (an embarrassing pastiche that elevated Timbaland's production to the nth degree).

From there, for our artist began a period of significant decline (an improbable album in Spanish, despite her Portuguese origins, and another in English that was rather poor, released far too late and consequently almost ignored).

We arrive at this year when the singer-songwriter decides to make a decisive turn: leaving the major labels, she founds her own label and realizes it’s time to clear the slate and start anew. And, incredibly, out comes one of the surprise albums of the year; "The Ride" is a noteworthy album, and not only in the pop field.

Sure, there are remnants of the "questionable" past ("Palaces," "Right Road"), but perhaps more due to the overemphasis by the (excellent) producer John Congleton. For the rest, we are faced with a cohesive, inspired work, guided by good songwriting and Furtado's excellent interpretive vein.

An album that at times even makes you jump in your seat, as in the case of the promotional singles "Pipe Dreams," a grande ballad à la Frank Ocean, and the pulsing "Flatline," an alt-pop track that wouldn't be out of place on an Arcade Fire album. Splendid things also come from "Paris Sun," enriched by a perfect arrangement, and "Live," perhaps the only track harking back to Furtado's pseudo-folk origins, but with new awareness in the writing and arrangement phase. Not to mention the ethereal closure of "Phoenix," a triumph of Congleton's production.

"The Ride," ultimately, is not the whim of a failed pop star, but a restart toward more artistically valid shores. A must-listen to realize that pop can still offer good things, even from (former) big names like Nelly Furtado.

Best track: Paris Sun