Singer and world-renowned music icon Rihanna debuted in 2005 with an urban-yet-teeny-bopper image accompanying her first studio album, Music of the Sun. Following her well-publicized assault scandal with Chris Brown back in 2009, Rihanna’s musical direction took a dark turn with Rated R, her chart-topping album chock-full of songs with non-apologetic references to her failed relationship with Brown.

Her newest release, Loud, continues this “dark” trend, and the result is an album that somehow manages to disappoint and impress at the same time; the quality of the songs is good, but only that — good.

The letdowns of Loud are rather poignant. For starters, many of the album’s songs just sound far too alike. Song after song, track after track, listeners are treated to Rihanna’s unique voice, some sultry lyrics and electronic and bass-laden beats, but that’s it. Although rather enjoyable, the dance/pop songs on Loud just end up blending together in a slurry haze of music that makes hardly any of its individual entries memorable (or distinguishable).

More than a few of the songs on Loud also happen to be incredibly boring tracks about sex. I’m not saying the subject of sex in an album is inherently bad, but the uncreative ways in which the topic is presented in “S&M,” “What’s My Name?” and “Skin” hardly give such a fun activity justice. The three songs are obvious filler tracks, with not much effort put into them, especially lyrically. The album has its high points, however. Even with its lack of creativity — both artistically and lyrically — not all of the songs on Loud are bad. Some of the more emotional entries like “California Bed King,” “Man Down” and “Fading” are wonderfully written songs that show off Rihanna’s trademark Caribbean voice. “Love the Way You Lie (Part II)” is easily another one of the album’s highlights. In the sequel to her August duet with Eminem, “Part II” tells the side of the song from the female (Rihanna’s) perspective, and the song fits her well. “Complicated” is another stunner in the album, which shies away from Rihanna’s typical vocal tricks and allows her to display her incredibly powerful voice without the silly repetitive “eh’s” and “oh’s” she’s known for.

If you can’t tell, Loud was a difficult album to review. That said, the album is genuinely worth at least one listen. Loud is definitely one of those releases with songs that are easy to forget, but because of tracks like

“Love the Way You Lie (Part II)” and “Complicated,” the album manages to gain some credibility when it comes to the quality of its songs. While the tracks on Loud are decently enjoyable on their own, the fact remains many of them are far too similar, and it’s this lack of creativity that prevents Rihanna’s Loud from being a anything more than just a “good” album.

Best tracks: “California Bed King,” “Complicated,” “Love the Way You Lie (Part II)”