There’s a saying we like here at auspOp. If Britney can survive 2007, she can survive anything.
Well the same may not be true for Britney in 2013. The level of indifference to this, Britney’s eighth album, is sad but not surprising given that ‘Britney Jean’ sounds somewhere in between ‘this will do’ and ‘I give up’.
First of all, ‘Work Bitch’ is not good enough to sit in your iTunes collection amongst Britney’s other lead singles. Yes it’s a very ‘now’ song, but there’s little substance behind it and it will probably age very badly.
Second single ‘Perfume’ is also issue-prone. It sounds very personal but it is let down by its ordinary production.
Elsewhere on the record things don’t get much better. ‘It Should Be Easy’, in comparison with other Britney/Will.I.Am duets, is better than ‘Femme Fatale’s ‘Big Fat Bass’ but not as interesting as ‘Scream & Shout’. ‘Tik Tik Boom’, ‘Passenger’ and ‘Don’t Cry’ all mesh together whilst ‘Alien’ is reminiscent of her great ‘Blackout’ era but, again, not as good.
Highlights? ‘Til Its Gone’ and ‘Now That I Found You’ for sure, but both are only good because they sound like other songs. ‘Til Its Gone’ is essentially an EDM version of J Lo’s ‘On The Floor’ and ‘Now That I Found You’ rips off Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ (for the second time on the album after ‘Body Ache’).
Britney hits new levels of ridiculousness on ‘Chilling With You’ though. The track is actually quite sweet until it gets to the chorus. Then it just gets…awkward. Get drunk on red wine with your sister another time Britney! Why is she even releasing an album when she’s too busy preparing for her Vegas shows to promote it?
Don’t get us wrong, we’re happy she’s got her personal life sorted out and continues to perform but it does feel like her days of being relevant are at an end. Then again, she’s proven us wrong before….
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Anonymous says
I’ve listened to the album all the way through twice now and I can officially say that I don’t like it
Matt says
I think it’s a great album. I totally agree about Chillin’ With You though, such a sweet song and boom that dreadful chorus. I am hoping Alien is a single release and I think deep down Hold On Tight is the best on the album.
And let’s also remember that it’s taken Britney 15 years [or 8 albums] to have what everyone is calling an upsetting debut even though it still was top 5 in the states. Lady GaGa is on her third album, with massive/heavy promotion and it’s doing nothing great either.
Anonymous says
I agree that this is a bad album, but I have to disagree entirely with your review of ‘Work Bitch’
… The song is amazing!!!!!
Anonymous says
1 bad album and she might be irrelevant? Sit down. She’s BRITNEY SPEARS – its not like she wont get another hit. I agree the album isn’t that great but I wouldn’t go that far. It was an obvious “We’re doing Vegas so let’s get an album out” moment. No promotion, nothing. She has become a pop icon and will never become someone people are over. If Jennifer Lopez can live off collaborations with Pitbull every 2 years and no one say a word, Justin Timberlake flop every single with Part 2 of his album, Christina only getting hit singles with collaborations (I could go on) then Britney Spears will be remembered and be current in pop music. No she’s not the IT girl but neither is Madonna or Mariah Carey.
Anonymous says
I love Tik Tik Boom.
Mark says
I love every song on the album. Except ‘Chillin’ With You; should not have been included at all.