Britney Spears is one of the greatest pop stars of all time, there's no denying that. Her influence, even if she was controlled and directed by record company execs, on late 90s and early 2000s pop is unquestionable. She's released iconic songs like 'Baby One More Time', 'Oops! I Did It Again', 'Slave 4 U' & 'Toxic', and she's sold over 100 million albums in 15 years. So when she comes back with new material all pop fans sit in perspiring anticipation for another "epic" moment from the once princess of pop.
New album Britney Jean has been promoted, although minimally, as her most personal record to date. A concept record about the loneliness of the pop industry, apparently. She's roped in some of the biggest producers in the world too, like Madonna's pal William Orbit, 'Million Voices' anthem maker Otto Knows, Diplo and of course her new bff Will.i.am.
The album is largely a dance album. Lead single Work Bitch, produced by Otto and Will.i.am is a club ready anthem with euphoric electronic dance production and ridiculous lyricism. Britney whips out her 'best' English accent, something I'm beginning to think Will.i.am is responsible for and demands you call her 'the bubbler' because she'll make you 'bubble up'. It's one of the stupidest songs of 2013 and of her career (bar 'Lucky') but it's so infectious and so likeable it's infuriating. The silliness continues with uber robotic It Should Be Easy, featuring Will.i.am. The overuse of vocoder distracts from what could actually have been a solid dance track - thankfully the vocal-less dance segments are enjoyable. The dance productions continue with Body Ache, a less silly song than Work Bitch but with a less enjoyable dance segue. We do get a little blast of what Britney calls Hip Hop, but we'll call it Brit Hop, with Tik Tik Boom featuring T.I. It suffers from over production on the vocal front, but the beats on the chorus are brilliant.
Orbit production Alien is the most blatant attempt at exploring the concept of a lonely pop life. It's actually quite a strong song after repeated listens, with some lovely Orbit trademark sounds. The problem is it could have just been pushed that little bit further. Whether this failure to quite hit the 'perfect' mark is down to Britney's inability to be charismatic or Orbit's production eludes me. Still this is one of the album's best tracks. Til It's Gone similarly looks at being alone, however on a more personal than professional level. It's an album highlight, with less intrusive vocal manipulation and some trademark Britney croaks surrounded by brilliant dance synths.
Buzz song Passenger is another enjoyable moment on Britney Jean, but it is in dire need of a 15 second cut from the vocal empty intro. It's a mid-tempo love song with a pretty strong hook and pleasant poppy production from Diplo. I did expect something far more intense from a producer of his calibre though... Following on from this is the absolutely awful duet with her little sister Jamie Lynn Chillin' With You, who is actually a better singer than her mega star sibling but has about as much charisma as door knob. Couple that with shit on a stick production and you have the turd of Britney Jean.
A Britney Spears album is not complete without a down tempo track, or two. The Britney Spears ballad can never really be a proper ballad due to, err, vocal limitations. Britney Jean has a couple of these 'ballads' in the form of Perfume & Don't Cry. The latter is mediocre, with yet more overuse of vocoder marring any credibility the song could have had. Sia penned Perfume is a lot stronger, with little to no vocal manipulations or silly effects. It's a strong enough track, with a catchy chorus but it's not one of Sia's best works.
When Britney Spears released Blackout she paved the way for electronic pop to rise up and take over the charts. Unfortunately, Britney Jean isn't going to be setting any trends, nor is it going to have a number 1 single (I doubt). There isn't one 5 star track here, but there are a few that with a bit more attention and perhaps some fresh producers could have been very strong. As has become the trend in Britney Spears' work, this album is overflowing with dance floor beats and over production. There are some songs that are so vocally manipulated they may as well have built a robot and stuck it in the studio. The notion that this is a concept album is completely absurd; a concept album has a recurring theme/message, this does not. If you want a concept album listen to VV Brown's Samson & Delilah. Britney Jean is an album that hinders its own success with production greed, Britney's complete lack of charisma & personality, and far too much Will.i.am.
Download: Alien / Perfume / Work Bitch / Til It's Gone
2/5
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