User:Tomica/Sandbox/Anti (Critical reception)

Anti received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 73, based on 31 reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars and described the album as a "subdued, simmering affair". He stated that by the end of the album, Rihanna doesn't give a definite conclusion about her artistry, but she the singer showcases that she can be "unguarded and anti-commercial, resulting in her most compelling record to date". Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos remarked that on Anti, Rihanna is in charge of her own sound and remakes the pop music on her own terms further describing it as a "a sprawling masterpiece of psychedelic soul that's far more straightforward than its tangled rollout". Eric Renner Brown of Entertainment Weekly gave the album "A-" grade and wrote that the "only true carryover" on the record are her vocals which he described as "stronger than ever".

Writing for The Independent, Emily Jupp wrote that the album is full with Rihanna's self-confidence and shows that her voice is not limited as previously noted, "anyone who ever said her voice could only do certain things and showing them she can do anything she wants to." Pitchfork Media's Amanda Petrusich called Anti a "rich and conflicted record at its most interesting when it’s at its most idiosyncratic." Regarding the lack of commercial songs is a result of Rihanna's will for "spiritual stock-taking" with her fans. Jia Tolentino of Spin magazine stated that it's the singer's first "aesthetically personal album" and thought that although it's a musical step sideways it represents a step forward in the her artistry. Further, she praised Harrell's vocal production and labeled Rihanna's voice as "extraordinary" further highlighting her falsetto, tone and roundness of the vocals. Corbin Reiff of The A.V. Club wrote that, "in the end, Anti’s tracks combine to create a picture of Rihanna at her most relatable and enthralling."

In a mixed review, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described Anti as a "chaotic and scattershot album, not the product of a committed artistic vision, or even an appealingly freeform aesthetic, but rather an amalgam of approaches, tones, styles and moods. The Guardian editor Alexis Petridis gave the album three-out-of-five stars, writing "Sprawling, uneven and opaque – Rihanna's eighth album sounds as uncertain as its botched launch. But, in a risk-averse world, there's something brave about Anti, and at its best, its daring pays off." Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine felt that "the ultimate impression the album leaves isn't just that of an artist who failed to follow through on her vision, but who never bothered to conceive one in the first place."