Poppin Tuesday is really popping now isn't it? Pulling out all the stops. Britney Spears is perceived as an icon at this point. Whether it be her talents or the Free Britney movement, she has been a staple to pop music for longer than most popstars last in today's environment. Give her some flowers.
The focus of this album is dance. Yes, the ideal was you are going to move your body to this. Club like experience. I would presume by now most people did not visit Britney Spear's catalog for the depth department but more the poppy escapism. I am rather a sucker for a good pop earworm.
I would be surprised if you had regular radio to hear you never heard "Till the World Ends". That song was everywhere. Very dance leaning and feels a bit dated now. It definitely fit the early 2010s music trends of dancing and escapism. Club music was it.
I think "Hold It Against Me" was the better single. Better lyrics with as good of production builds a hit with a little more longevity than the latter.
"I Wanna Go" really sets the mood for the escapisms of the 2010s but also feels production wise to call back to pre-dubstep dance pop. Eurodance still matters!
I was never very fond of "How I Roll". For one, the lyrics are dreadful. The beat feels too slow to really keep the club vibe. Luckily the song is not so terrible that it cannot be glossed over. It was the biggest miss of this album though.
Now I get to discuss my defense of "Drop Dead Beautiful" after slaughtering How I Roll for poor lyricism. This song does not have the best lyrics but the production is so earwormy. It gets stuck in your head and is so infectious. I think most people can relate to a track discussing seeing someone as attractive. It actually has a bit of a vibe you would hear with Kesha.
"Seal It With a Kiss" feels like some of the failures of How I Roll were refined into a better song more fitting for the record. If you want more catchy earworms, this definitely catches your ear.
"Big Fat Bass" starts into a shift into the sonic choices of the album, which captures more modern dance music trends. Namely, dubstep. I think she mixed them well. The style reminds me of what Colette Carr would be known for later.
"Trouble For Me" is another not grating utilization of dubstep styles mixed with older styles. I think the song could be forgettable to some although I love the production of it.
"Trip to Your Heart" feels so resonant of early 2000s love songs thematically. She adds more of the vocal filters more commonly used now, but it feels so syrupy like early Mandy Moore.
Okay, so "Gasoline" tries way too hard with the analogies. "My heart only runs on Supreme", You set me on fire...yeah we got it. It is gasoline. It starts you up. Now this would sound like I despise this track but I actually like how infectious it is. I can visualize a performance for this in my head. Britney sells it. Not sure everyone could frankly.
The album closes with "Criminal", which is a cute love song. It feels strange as an actual closer though. Imagine if "Till the World Ends" was the closer instead, like a credit roll.
MUSIC: 9/10 - I love the production of this album and the embracing of old styles while still capturing the new.
LYRICS: 8/10 - Okay who comes to a Britney Spears album for depth and lyricism? Out of here with you, she has never been the place for that. I think all the words decently fit but some of the lyrics are a bit too on the nose and make the songs goofy at times.
OVERALL: 8/10 - A very solid, fun pop album. If you want to listen to some mindless earworms, this is definitely that kind of album. You cannot cry yourself to sleep every day listening to sad music. Pop belongs on turntables too. I would tweak the tracklist to make it a bit more cohesive thematically, but this is a rather minor gripe for a mindless dance-pop release.
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