Rihanna - Where Have You Been

The joy with Rihanna is that she's one of those preciously rare artists that can release pretty much anything and be sure of a hit. But as far as Rihanna hits-in-the-making go, Where Have You Been is a pretty good one, recapturing the darker overtones of her Rated R album via a hauntingly ambient guitar intro reminiscent of Photographs. This all builds into an apocalyptically chaotic trance section that spurts a load of synth twiddlings over the listener like a burst fire-hose. It's a wildfire, explosive cocktail but inherently fun in that way Rihanna does so well, eg. you just know that if she were to perform it on the X Factor, it'd come with a bonkers, racy-as-hell routine. But on a more serious note, on an album which could have very nearly been a misfire (see the execretable Birthday Cake), Where Have You Been is reassuringly like the Rihanna of old.

Where Have You Been is set for a June release date.