Album Review: Nelly Furtado — ‘The Ride’

Five years ago Nelly Furtado released her underrated album The Spirit Indestructible, which gave us gems like “Waiting For The Night” and “Bucket List”.

Since then the Canadian singer has left her record label and taken a playwriting course at university. She’s also worked in her daughter’s school library and in a friend’s record shop.

Her efforts to reconnect with the simpler life that had inspired her first record resulted in her new album The Ride, which was released on March 31st. Let’s see how Nelly’s switch to a more indie-oriented sound turned out.

1. Cold Hard Truth (8/10)

The Ride opens with “Cold Hard Truth”, an edgy midtempo song with powerful verses and a soft chorus. Over a commanding beat Nelly ostensibly tells a lover that they’re both better off alone. But with lines like “it’s been a long time coming, feeling your presence hovering,” the song could also be a farewell to her former record label.

In any case, the “and as I fly away” bit is sublime.

2. Flatline (7/10)

This midtempo track was likely chosen as the second single from The Ride because it’s by far the poppiest moment on the record. The verse melodies of “Flatline” are indeed amazing. That being said, the chorus and the lyrics are a little too safe. There are other songs on this album that would have deserved to become a single more than this one (e.g. “Paris Sun”, “Palaces”).

3. Carnival Games (7/10)

Track number 3 features some of the most exciting lyrics you’ll find on The Ride: “If you spend enough cash at the carnival games you’ll have a prize in your hand when you walk away. It’ll slip through your fingers and you’ll never know what winning’s really like at all.”

It’s on songs like “Carnival Games” that Nelly’s new artistic direction is most prominent. Complex metaphors would have been out of place on her former records but they are an integral part of her mature new sound. “Carnival Games” is a track you really need to listen to in order to discover its magic. With a catchier chorus, it would have been an album highlight.

4. Live (6/10)

A prominent beat starts. Nelly sing-speaks a rushed verse. Then a unique chorus kicks in, on which her lines sound strangely like backing vocals.

“Live” is one of those songs that you’ll either be blown away by or find yourself struggling to get into at all. As such, it’s a good album track, but certainy no single material.

5. Paris Sun (9/10)

Speaking of single material: welcome to “Paris Sun”, The Ride’s sonic equivalent of a bright summer holiday.

From the short, laid-back verses to the half-spoken pre-chorus and the dreamy chorus, this is a timeless pop classic. It balances perfectly on the thin — and often imaginary — line between catchy popsong and artsy indie track. When summer comes around, this has to get a vintage instagram-filter-style music video that features Nelly in flowerprint dresses and gigantic sunglasses.

6. Sticks And Stones (7/10)

If you want to make an indie record these days, you have to have one world peace song on it, don’t you?

Of all the anti-violence songs out there at the moment, “Sticks And Stones” is one of the okay ones. Lyrically, it’s pretty straightforward, idealistic, and — just like its title — a little boring. The pre-chorus and the chorus melodies, however, are undeniably great.

7. Magic (9/10)

The songtitle “Magic” makes all alarms bells go off in a music lover’s head. This can only be a cheesy lovesong, can’t it?

Fortunately, it’s not. In fact, this midtempo ballad starts with an emotional first verse and then features some truly amazing lines. “Have you just grown up and given up?” Nelly pointedly asks on the chorus, before stating, “you don’t believe in magic anymore.” In the second verse, she sings, “I put away all my red shoes so that I wouldn’t get the blues, thinking ‘bout the time that I knew how to dance.”

As a nostalgic meditation on growing up, “Magic” works perfectly. Especially since the background-style chorus vocals sound a lot better on this track than they do on “Live”.

8. Pipe Dreams (8/10)

The first single to be lifted from The Ride is a dreamy ballad that, upon its release, impressively demonstrated Nelly’s change in musical direction. With lines like “don’t sell me no pipe dreams, I wanna live in a kaleidoscope” and a dramatic sound, “Pipe Dreams” may not be the best song on the album, but it’s certainly a fitting lead single.

9. Palaces (9/10)

“Palaces” falls into the desirable category of catchy songs with substance. While the “break free from the chains” hook is a gift to radio, the uplifting lyrics convey an important message through a simple choice of words. Even the changes in pace, which could theoretically interrupt the song’s flow, are well executed.

All in all, “Palaces” is a flawless example of how great “Sticks And Stones” could have been.

10. Tap Dancing (10/10)

“Paris Sun”, “Magic”, and “Palaces” may all be great songs, but the real standout track on The Ride is the ballad “Tap Dancing”. On his masterpiece, Nelly addresses her life as an entertainer in the most personal and brutally honest way possible.

“Just doing what I can for you to like me,” she sings. “Hiding the clown I am deep down inside me.” Later, she muses, “I shouldn’t have to dance at all for you to love me.” Then there’s the sharp remark “don’t think you know me,” which sheds light on the perceived relationship between entertainer and fans.

We’ve known for a long time that Nelly is a talented songwriter (think of “Explode” or “Try”), but with “Tap Dancing” she reaches a new level. This is, simply put, one of the best songs you’ll hear all year.

11. Right Road (6/10)

Next up is a short and comparatively simple song with an alright chorus and a nice instrumental. “Right Road” is a good album track, but far from being a highlight.

12. Phoenix (7/10)

The Ride ends with a proper downtempo ballad. The verses are amazing, and Nelly’s vocals truly shine. But the rise-like-a-phoenix-metaphor? Really? That was already old in the fifties.

Without the phoenix lines, which this song doesn’t really need at all, it would have been a fantastic, appropriately emotional album closer.

Ultimately: 8/10

The Ride is an album that pays more attention to lyrics and messages than to radio requirements. Nelly Furtado attempts to offer us catchy songs with substance — and she mostly succeeds.

“Paris Sun” is the summery feelgood song we’ll listen to on repeat in the upcoming months, “Magic” is the growing-up-track we didn’t know we desperately needed, and “Tap Dancing” is, frankly, the absolute highlight of Nelly’s songwriting career so far.

Even if you’re still a massive fan of her Loose days, you should give indie-Nelly a chance. Just cue the band and let her tap dance for you.