Music Review: Britney Spears

I was supposed to do a regular post, but that’ll have to wait til tomorrow because the “Queen of Pop” released her 6^th album today: Circus.  I’m a huge Britney fan, so I was anxious to get a listen (especially since multiple facebook connections of mine got early listens of the album and were unwilling to share!).

The album starts out with the lead single “Womanizer”.  I agreed with a friend of mine when she said it “sounds like a leftover from Blackout.”  It’s a strange choice for a lead single and first track because it doesn’t really introduce the concept of the album.  It’s not even that empowering a song.  But anyone in the Ivy League Crew can tell you how much I love the background vocals' repetition of “womanizer” in the bridge!

She follows up with the follow-up single (whose corny decision was that!  For the record, she was not the executive producer of this project) and title track, “Circus”.  This is a much more unique song (yet still Britney) that builds to a very hot hook.  There’s no bridge: it’s just an instrumental dance break (which makes it so sad that she can’t dance anymore).  It grips the listener.  It’s autobiographical, referring to the rush and power trip of performing.  Sadly not written by her. 

“Out from Under” slows things down.  This ballad would have been great with some belting rather than her gentle flip between head and chest voice (seen in “Everytime” from In the Zone).  The pre-chorus's flow suggests that it was originally written a third higher but was later modified to be sung lower in the same key (notice how carefully I worded that statement).  A touch more ad-libbing would be desirable at the end.  When I saw Britney’s Onyx Hotel tour, she sang two of her slow songs live, but I feel like this one would be a disaster.

Things pick back up with “Kill the Lights” where Timbaland protégé and writer/producer of half of Blackout Danja appears (finally!).  The track is set up in the intro as if Britney is about to address the press (with Danja’s voice over morse code).  The instrumentation fits the circus concept of the album, and it would have been a better lead single than “Womanizer”.  It’s not even the chorus with this song that gets me; it’s the run-off after the chorus with the chanting.  Part of me hopes this won’t make it to the radio but DJs will jump on it anyway (much like the best of DJs did with her collaboration with the Ying Yang Twinz: “(I Got That) Boom Boom”).

Everybody loves a good you-cheated-and-you-can’t-get-me-back song, and “Shattered Glass” brings it.  This could be a single as well.  I wish it weren’t so short (clocking in at 2:52), but that’s better than it being too long with filler.

Max Martin (writer/producer of most of …Baby One More Time, Oops I Did It Again, and Britney) lends his pen and mouse after having no contributions on her last two albums.  “If U Seek Amy" is a stellar return and obviously has some symbolism going on.  Let’s assume it’s either drugs, sobriety or sanity she’s searching for.  He comically echoes their first collaboration, repeating “Oh baby, baby” a countless number of times.

“Unusual You” sounds a bit like Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Otherside” at first, but it devolves into a mellow electronica track that sounds like one of the so-so songs from In the Zone.  Surprise, surprise: Bloodshy and Avant (“Toxic” and “Showdown" from In the Zone, “Piece of Me” from Blackout, and Christina Milian’s “AM 2 PM”) produced it. The lyrics didn’t stick out to me at all.

I guessed that “Blur” was a Danja track before I looked at the credits.  It’s almost like the Moby-produced “Early Mornin’”… without the Moby.  99% of us can relate to it personally.

I found it hilarious that the first Britney Spears writing credit on the album (primary credits, no less) contains the lyric “Let’s make out!”  Nice.  “Mmm Papi” feels like a just touch of 60s rock/beach music.  Not sure who Let’s Go To War (the producer([s]) is, but the octaves in the hook sound sloppy.  While that seems more like a vocal mistake, it’s the producer’s job to catch that and correct it by either re-recording or *shudder* pitch correcting.  But that’s if it’s not a stylistic choice.  There’s a whiney quality about this song that annoys me, but the spoken part at the end puts it over the edge.  Maybe at 17, but not 27.

“Mannequin” sounds like a throw-away Timbaland track where he forgot to turn up the kick and the bass.  True story: Britney Spears mentions one of the producers  of this song (Harvey Mason, Jr. of the Underdogs) in Rolling Stone, saying she wanted to work with him because he has a “Timbaland kind of sound.”  Right. 

The idea behind “Lace and Leather” is very sexy, but the track is too boppy to pull it off.  Starts off sounding like “Brave New Girl” from In the Zone.  Producer Dr. Luke (“Girlfriend” by Avril Levigne, “Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry) makes a change from major to minor key, which goes with the contrast in the song title.  And it incorporates a pretty wicked electric guitar.  But I’m still not convinced.  This song is the equivalent of a little girl trying to play dress-up.  Of Kat de Luna  trying to be sexy in the video for “Run the Show” (she wasn’t quite grown enough yet).  Of Audrea from Danity Kane trying to be sexy ever.

“My Baby” is a sweet and beautiful song written by Britney to her child.  It’s probably the most sincere song on the album, and the simple instrumentation compliments it nicely.

Okay, did anyone else buy Blackout?  Remember there was a hot song called “Radar” that could have been a single?  I was confused when I saw “Radar” in this track listing, but I listened anyway.  IT’S THE SAME TRACK!  WTF?!  I listened just in case there was some kind of “haha, just kidding,” and I want my 3:49 back.  Apparently the song was a hit in Australia and Europe, but is that a reason to duplicate it exactly on the next album?  At least let DJ Abe do a remix or something!

“Rock Me In”: Yawn.  Filler.  The verses are actually pretty fun, but it builds up to a ho-hum over-trebled chorus.  Next.

The line “dirty talk and call it phonography” sums up what “Phonography” is about.  It’s kinda clever, and it’s the same production and writing team behind “Radar”.  It’s unfortunate that it came out less than two weeks after Beyonce’s “Video Phone”, which is sexier but not as dirty.

Basically, this album was a disappointment, but not as big a let down as I Am… Sasha Fierce.  Then again, there’s no equivalent to “Single Ladies” (which, I will admit, is mostly hot because of the video, but whatever).  There were times when it really reminded me way too much a previous Britney album (can you guess which one), which is sad because she got primary writing credits on half the songs on her best album of the last 3 and less than a third on this album.  And none of them says single to me.  Take out the repeat of "Radar" (I really think we deserve a prompt explanation of this!), and the album is okay.  Good.  Not what I’d expect from the “Queen of Pop”.  Honestly, with all she’s been through, I didn’t really expect a spectacular work of art.  But she would have been better off holding off and doing a spring/summer release with more dance-pop tunes.

Suggested Tracks:

Circus

Kill The Lights

Shattered Glass

If U Seek Amy

Maybe:

Blur

Phonography

My Baby

Click here to check out my review of I Am... Sasha Fierce.