Nelly Furtado's eagerly-anticipated (by me) fifth album was released last week to very little fanfare. The Spirit Indestructible didn't even dent the top 100 on Australian iTunes. It's a sad fate when you consider the Canadian diva's last English-language opus Loose went to #1 in nine countries and sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. The problem hasn't been the quality - I loved "Big Hoops (Bigger The Better)" and grew to appreciate "Spirit Indestructible" (despite it having the worst intro of 2012) but they completely missed the mark commercially. The former was way too experimental and the latter sounded like a cut from 2007 gone wrong. Everything is now riding on single number three.
Produced by Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins, "Parking Lot" is a brilliant piece of pop. I love the relentless synths and the simple lyrics are deceptively clever. It's also curiously put together with (arguably) two different choruses and a demented spoken interlude. Nelly has created something unique, stretching the boundaries of pop with the skill of Santigold. But when was the last time Santigold had a hit? I fear "Parking Lot" is too left-field for radio and will, most likely, be ignored by tastemakers due to the performance of her last two singles. It would be a shame because this is the ultimate grower. A couple of listens to this breezy jam and you're hooked. Trust me.
As for the video, it's pretty good. For starters, Nelly has not looked sexier this era. She came across as a crazy woman in her "Big Hoops" video and then reverted to her typical earth mother persona for "The Spirit Indestructible". This time around, the 33-year-old is revisiting her Loose-era vamp image. It's basically "Promiscuous" - the sequel - but I'm not complaining. She looks like a pop star again and does her best with the basic choreography. I like all the pretty lights and quick cuts and think the literal set-up works well on this occasion. Fingers crossed it's not too late for Nelly to make her presence felt on the charts.
Song = 9/10, Video = 7/10
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