Shakira - She Wolf

"I wanted a bassier album with harder sounds. I wanted the beats to be very solid," Shakira said at the start of the year when discussing her new album, and true to her word, 'She Wolf' is a collection of upbeat tracks built directly for the dancefloor. Aided by producers Pharrell, John Hill and Wyclef, the bizarre singer flirts with a diverse range of cultures and styles from all corners of the globe.

It's her partnership with the Neptunes ace that has resulted in 'She Wolf's finer moments - clear highlight (and future single) 'Did It Again', the dancehall-inspired beats of 'Good Stuff', and 'Why Wait' is an intoxicating blend of Middle Eastern sounds. 'Men In This Town' takes a route of electro-pop, and title track 'She Wolf' is the insanely brilliant fusion of disco-groove basslines and wolf howls, that only a singer as eccentric as Shakira could pull off.

Wyclef's involvement on 'Spy' isn't the kind of worldwide smash their last collaboration produced on 'Hips Don't Lie', but is still worthy of repeat listens. Shakira has (as always) fun with her vocals, adding weird mouth effects like a detuned synth, as the former Fugee merges funk bass, Motown horns, strings and plucked harps. Only the folk ditty of 'Gypsy' sticks out like a sore thumb sandwiched between thudding beats, electro bleeps and hard bass.

Not so-much a Latin-infused listen as we may be more accustomed to, 'She Wolf' still sounds like a solid Shakira record - the hip-shaking rhythms, the out-of-this world vocals and yelps, not the mention of course, her truly baffling trademark lyrics - with the bonkers Columbian offering such genius lines as: "Matt Damon is not meant for me," or "I'm a gypsy, are you coming with me? I might steal your clothes and wear them if they fit me."

Her finest work to date.