Album- Femme Fatale
Artist- Britney
Spears
Britney Spears is truly the Princess of Pop, with a career
that has produced great pop songs, stood the test of time and given very high
career sales. This sixth studio album wasn’t as high selling as some others but
at the same time was the first of Britney’s to produce 3 top ten hits. So is
this a good album, or does it signal that this artists career might be on its
last legs.
Track 1- Till the
World Ends
This high energy dance pop track lives very much up to its
name. Britney’s relatively fragile vocals work great in the verses with slow
lyrical stresses, and the auto tune wo ah is a cool electronic vibe to in the
song rather than unnecessary vocal production. The clattering back beats in
fused the track with a sense if audience participation and plays up to the
living life lyrics, which are pretty forgettable but at the same time feature a
simple pop hook that many will enjoy. The slow build up to the songs final
moments also makes for an aggressive, powerful party end.
4/5
Track 2- Hold It
Against Me
Britney’s lead single off the album presented an exploration
in sound whilst still sticking to her pop roots. The lyrics are pretty bad, featuring a pick up
line that is now really out of date but probably has gained resurgence purely
because of this track. And Britney’s voice doesn’t work well with the sentiment
of the song, not really bringing out a sexy vibe, which is sad considering the
girl gave us I’m A Slave For You. That sad, this song is great in terms of
production. The punchy back beat gives the track a propulsive edge, and the dup
step breakdown before the tracks final verse is a great example of music genres
mixing together really well (and also before dupstep became that whole
mainstream thing it is today).
3.5/5
Track 3- Inside Out
Unlike the last track Britney’s vocal really work with this
song, giving a sense of youthful playfulness through the fragility that lies in
her tone. The powerful beats give a great groove to the track that prevails
throughout, and the loud “so come on” moments give a great flourish of energy
to the track that makes it just a little bit more memorable. The chorus could
do with a little more work and the lyrical repetition of certain verses is a
little annoying, but overall this is a good song.
3/5
Track 4- I Wanna Go
This is the most playful track on the album and works great
in having a real sexual edge to it but in my eyes still having just a hint of
innocence to it. The stedy back beat gives a great groove to the track, and the
way the chorus is arranged production wise is great, always allowing for a
slight slow build to get you dancing along with Britney. The use of autotune is
also quite effective in this track, working well in the chorus whilst never
hindering the artist. And the whistling effects sporadically used throughout
are a nice twist. It’s just an all-round fun and sassy number that can easily
get stuck in your head.
4/5
Track 5- How I Roll
This is a cool, groovy head bopping number that is slightly
chilled and greatly contrasts with the booming sound of the previous song. The
handclapping backbeat and sonic sound is great, and the male vocal Britney
vocal combo in the chorus is cool and unique in this record. The “oh hah” bits
are a nice flourish, and Britney’s vocals are nice and subtly played out on
this song.
3.5/5
Track 6- (Drop Dead)
Beautiful (featuring Sabi)
The autotune usage on this track is just edging over the
top, but the playful and sexy edge to the track makes up for it, and through
the processed vocals we still get a sense of Britney enjoying the song and
having fun with her sexy persona. The clattering drums and switches from simple
production in the verses to heavy, more fast paced beats in the chorus is
great. The Sabi track is good if a bit weird and stops this track from just
being a simple Britney song. And the refrain, though perhaps over repetitive,
is also equally memorable and fun.
3/5
Track 7- Seal It with
a Kiss
The consistent beat and slight dupstep wobbles signals this
as good track in terms of production. Vocally it’s just a little bit similar to
other songs on the record so it’s nothing special, and the chorus could be a
little more sexy vocally in line with the lyrical content. But lyrically the
track is cool, simply acting as lover call song but doing it in a slightly more
interesting way than I want you baby. A track to enjoy or to skip.
2.5/5
Track 8- Big Fat Bass
(featuring will.i.am)
This will.i.am produced track is a cool number that features
a cool piano driven undercurrent against more traditional booming bass notes
that truly reflect what this track is all about. But lyrically the song is just
bland, with lots of repetition that after a certain point just gets really
annoying. Sure there are small moments that’s are really good like this slight
will.i.am guest rap and the fast paced production of the kick drum section, but
Britney just sounds so boring and overprocessed on this song it’s a bit
ridiculous. It’s a shame that great artists like this get together and this is
what they produce.
2/5
Track 9- Trouble for
Me
After the disappointment of the last track the album comes
back to form with this more up tempo stomper with its great electronic sound
and aggressive backbeat. Okay the lyrics are just clichéd, but since when was
Britney about great lyrics? And the main thing is that it has that pop hook
that is easily memorable. And vocally Britney brings out her playful side and
seems to enjoy the song.
3.5/5
Track 10- Trip to
Your Heart
This song is just a little bit ridiculous. I’m totally not
one of those people who thinks that people shouldn’t use auto tune. I think it’s a cool tool that can do things
that voices can’t do naturally and makes tracks interesting. But overuse of it
is just ridiculous, and this is one of those tracks when this happens. And it’s
really bad because the use of auto tune just gives a true sense of lifelessness
to the track, which just isn’t right for a track when your lyrically talking
about taking a trip to your lovers heart. And the production value is just as
worse, just being a steady booming beat that just doesn’t add anything to the
song. The only nice things is the small clinking sounds in certain places. And
if that’s what I’m highlighting, then this song should just never have been
released.
0.5/5
Track 11- Gasoline
This track is much better than the last one cause its auto
tune sparse in comparison. Lyrically its bland but Britney really plays up to
her sexy Toxic persona well on this track, with
small flourishes such as the whispering of “it’s you” really uplifting
the track from being just a boring filler number. The final section is also
really good, with a cool electro beat driven bridge.
3/5
Track 12- Criminal
The most down tempo record on the album but still nowhere
near a ballad, this track is kind of refreshing and cool. Its folk infused
production and acoustic guitar level really contrast with the electronic dance
stuff that dominates the record, although elements of that are easily
identifiable here, meaning that the track doesn’t sound weird and a cohesive
body of work is produced. Vocally Britney brings that Oops I Did It Again girl
to the fore with a tangible sense of fragility, and lyrically it is subtly
interesting and an example of storytelling on the record. A really interesting
album end.
3.5/5
Final Review
Britney is great in that she always really sticks to her pop
roots. Here she has produced a really coherent body of material that is very
current and chart friendly. Sure she isn’t pushing the boundaries, but after
six albums does she really need to at this particular time. The only issue is
that in places things just don’t seem to come together, and so you get those
tracks that really mare the record. The next album really has to be listened to
by all of Britney’s team and honed to perfection before it is released. And the
auto tune needs to be taken down just a notch.
6/10
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