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In the world of Britney Spears, all one has to do is make a few
benevolent public appearances; show a willingness to laugh at past
mistakes, grab a few by-the-numbers producers/songwriters and the
pitfalls and pratfalls in your public history will be forever erased.
Oh, if it were only that simple.
After the disaster that was 2007, Brit-Brit’s handlers snatched
the starlet away from the spotlight for a few months, allowed her to
get her head together, and she re-emerged in late 2008, rejuvenated,
rehabilitated and reinvigorated.
Following up Blackout, (an album that was better-than-advertised but
was doomed to get lost in Spears’ whirlwind of car crashes and
custody battles), shouldn’t have been too demanding; but Spears
and Co. get it wrong.
Whereas on her previous record she sounded uninvolved in the
music—it was still fairly gripping dance pop that pushed
Spears’ sound into a more forcefully club-oriented direction. On
Circus, the producers decided to go with a safer, and sadly, blander
sound.
This is an album designed to make you forget that Britney Spears became
a tabloid train-wreck who’s music career became an afterthought
to both the artist and the general public. It’s an
‘I’m-all-better-now’ shill of an statement; more
calculated than sincere, and the songs are thoroughly unmemorable.
“If You Seek Amy” gets the listeners’ attention; but
mostly because of it’s carnality and obvious nod to Katy
Perry’s bi-curious hit “I Kissed A Girl;” and cuts
like “MMM Papi” sounds eight years late. The album is
peppered with half-hearted dance songs and lukewarm ballads. With music
like this, it’s no surprise that the most interesting aspect of
Spears lately has been her home life. – todd williams
