Rihanna’s sixth studio album, “Talk That Talk”, is a decent album. As a Rihanna fan, I like this album better than “Music of the Sun” and “Rated R” but I don’t like it as much as “Good Girl Gone Bad”, “A Girl Like Me”, or “Loud”. “Talk That Talk” is upbeat almost the way through and is balanced between American R&B/hip-hop and European electro-house.  Unlike her other albums, there is only one slow ballad on the album and no occasional rock track.  And at under 40 minutes, it is Rihanna’s shortest album to date.

Many of the album’s songs have good beats.  My favorite song on the album is “You Da One”. It’s a mid-tempo song with a very catchy chorus and elements of dubstep and reggae. “We Found Love” and “Where Have You Been” are produced by British electro-house DJ Calvin Harris.  Calvin Harris is one of the best at what he does, and these tracks are no exception. Unless you’ve been living under a rug, you’ve heard “We Found Love”. The title track, “Talk That Talk”, has a fast, heavy hip-hop beat; “Cockiness (Love It)” is dancehall infused; “Birthday Cake” is just a minute and a half long and features a slowed down electro beat.  The latter two are the, umm, racy side of the album.

However, the lyrical content on the album is lacking.  “Talk That Talk” was released less than a year after “Loud”, and it shows.  Many of the songs feature the same lines repeated over and over, and have lyrics that are not clever or inventive.  The album only ballad, “Farewell”, is underwhelming. “We All Want Love” is a mid-tempo song that does have good lyrical structure.

Even though I like six or seven of the songs on the album, none of them stand out like “Umbrella”, “Unfaithful”, or “What’s My Name?”, however.

If you are a Rihanna fan or a fan of pop music that is R&B-based or club-based, you may or may not be satisfied with this album.

(3 1/2 out of 5 stars)