Britney Jean
RCA/Sony
Britney Spears has been grabbing headlines for years whether as the God-fearing chaste or the knicker-less flashing train wreck, but sadly for her the music alone is nowhere near headline grabbing enough these days. Her latest effort, Britney Jean, will do little to redress this balance.
The one time biggest name in pop has locked herself into a 100-date Vegas contract that won’t help to lift her current status as glorified showgirl. Britney Jean is billed as a concept album about the loneliness of a ‘pop life’ but the tales are dull and the album relies heavily on autotune to give Spears’ songs a voice that is these days barely passable.
There is a plethora of mid-tempo tunes that sound dated rather than retro, many of the songs come off as soulless club fodder that would struggle to tempt people to the dancefloor. Work B**ch is kind of fun but not memorable in the slightest while Chillin’ With You, despite its cheese-laden lyrics and horrendous chorus at least has some positives.
While it is tragic to see a woman who had it all at her feet have such a public fall from grace and subsequent breakdown, it is still no excuse to put out records as flaccid as Britney Jean.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
