[NEW RELEASES] Shakira

Panting and clawing, Shakira drags us into her underworld of immoral deeds and hedonistic pleasures on “She Wolf.” Dance floor-ready stylings and Latin rhythms meld to produce yet another album that holds to the Colombian native’s brilliant brand.

Lyrically, Shakira demonstrates some uncustomary twists of phrase, comparing the feeling of abuse to “a coffee machine in an office,” or wishing she had “longer legs that I could fasten to your body so you’d take me with you anywhere.”

Her songs paint realistic, if nasty, scenarios, rife with insecurities. On “Men in This Town,” one of the most club-ready tracks, she describes arriving in L.A., only to find she’s not “the next Jolie” and that “Matt Damon’s not meant for me.” In other songs, she becomes the fabled other woman in a love triangle, singing, “And we seem to hear that I am in a place, where I’m losing the direction of my life.” The album’s only weak point is when she drops the complicated emotions and turmoil for the simple love song “Gypsy.” But otherwise, Shakira shows she’s a man-eater who can make the male sex - and the music industry - her prey. By Hannah Bae

Shakira

“She Wolf”

Label: Sony

Genre: Latin Pop