Rated Femme Fatale.

Another ‘comeback’ record, Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album from the iconic pop princess. Her last album Circus was a strong enough collection of pop songs, harking back to classic Britney moments and also ditching a little of the voice manipulation software that her producers love overdosing her on.  With amazing songs like ‘Unusual You’, ‘Womanizer’ and ‘Shattered Glass’, Britney sold millions of copies of the album and, of course, brought her bank balance to orgasm. Now she’s back, again, with Femme Fatale, which shows clear dub-step-pop-electronic influences.

Lead single, ‘Hold it Against Me’ was a grower for me. I panned it at first, which I now regret because it’s actually a pretty cool pop song. It’s a shame the song’s climax isn’t just a little bit more rip-roaring though. Second single ‘Till the World Ends’ is a club dance-floor filler, with an infectious ‘Oh oh oh oohh’ hook and a potentially awesome video to come. ‘Inside Out’ is a filthy number with Britney singing, ‘Give me something to remember, shut your mouth and turn me inside out’ and ‘Hit me one more time it’s so amazing’. It’s no surprise that Max Martin, the genious behind ‘Baby One More Time’ and other key Britney moments like ‘Overprotected’ and ‘If U Seek Amy’, makes an appearance at the knobs of the aforementioned tracks.  My personal ‘liked’ tracks from this album are the club-ready ‘I Wanna Go’ and the intoxicatingly melodious ‘Trip To Your Heart’. Critically acclaimed track ‘How I Roll’ doesn’t quite hit the spot for me, but I can see where others find it charming. It’s quite a different sound for ol’ Spears, but it just doesn’t quite get me tapping my heel. ‘Seal It With A Kiss’ and ‘Drop Dead Beautiful’ are fun pop songs, the latter packed with growling synths. ‘Big Fat Bass’ is noteable because it features Will.i.am, but aside from its cool sounding bridge and chorus, it gets a bit annoying hearing ‘It’s getting bigger, the bass is getting bigger’ over and over again. ‘Trouble For Me’ kicks off sounding like a motor starting, then bursts into a ‘Lace and Leather’ sounding, sexy pop verse. ‘Gasoline’ is equally as catchy as the other strong moments on the album, taking a few listens to really feel its charm. Closing ‘almost’ ballad ‘Criminal’ features weird pan-pipe sounds and an almost authentic Britney vocal.

The key moments here are the released singles, ‘Trip To Your Heart’ and ‘I Wanna Go’. It’s more consistent than Circus and almost as perfect as Blackout, regardless of aforementioned annoying repetition. Femme Fatale shows that Britney’s team knows exactly what direction will make her/them money. With over an hour of potential club anthems on one disc this is a sure fire dollar devouring machine.