Album Review: Nelly Furtado – 7
2 min read
It’s an easy statement to make that Nelly Furtado is an icon of modern pop music. Her string of hits in the early to mid 2000s and multiple awards cemented her place early on, and as a songwriter she has continued to experiment and adapt her sound to the times. It’s been seven years, however, since a full-length release, and many fans have been waiting in anticipation for new release 7.
The album opens with Showstopper, an understated tune with a dance-influenced groove that gallops along between the harmony-heavy choruses. It’s a nice moment early on of Nelly on her own, the album being very feature heavy. Corazón with Bomba Estéreo, Love Bites with SG Lewis and Tove Lo, and Better For Worse with Gray Hawken all lean heavily on their involvement, the first being a latin-inspired beat complete with flute samples and Spanish lyrics thrown into the mix. The latter is the first sign of a ballad, Gray’s lo-fi aesthetics seeping into Nelly’s to-the-point sound. His voice floats in and out, occasionally interacting with Nelly’s, and the pair naturally suit each other. Honesty is a full-on sugary pop song with a disco beat and catchy melody. It’s a definite highlight on the front half of the record.
Another slue of features come during the second half of the album, including Blxckie, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Tynomi Banks. Crown is a trap-inspired track with Nelly and Blxckie trading lines, while All Comes Back is a piano led ballad, Charlotte’s voice soaring above Nelly’s in the choruses and elevating the song beyond mundanity. Save Your Breath with follows has incredible group vocals, tight harmonies and deep octaves that bring the track to life. Fantasy feels like a return to the mid-2000s Nelly, the gritty bass line and pounding drum machine echoing Maneater. Take Me Down incorporates a surprise use of yodelling to its lead hook, which works shocking well with the track’s melody. The final song, Untitled, is a completely stripped back song, just Nelly voice and piano. Its a gorgeously melancholic ending that injects a final dose of intimacy and personality into the album.
7 is a mixed bag of styles that, while not flowing cohesively, create an interesting collection. Nelly dips her toes into different genres, some landing better than others, but always comprising of a strongly written song and infectious hooks. After so long, it acts as an experiment to see what fans, old and new, will cling onto the most, and there’s a lot for them to sink their teeth into.
Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.
