album reviewed: britney spears' bland blender

ARTIST: Britney Spears
ALBUM: Circus
RATING: OO1/2
hazim and the new asymptotes
hey. hazim here...again. Noone's had more coverage on ET than Miss Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, the ex-Mrs. Federline releases her sixth studio album , a year after her breakthrough Blackout last year, in an attempt to salvage her image and career.
WHAT'S GOOD: While Blackout was a darker edgier album, Circus strives to be its happier bouncy counterpart, playing on Britney's coyness and whatever is left of her sexiness. This works on album highlight and first single "Womanizer" where repeating the chorus (Womanizer Womanizer Womanizer) again and again like a broken record (what's that to us nowadays? lol) proves to be annoyingly catchy. Britney's at her best being playful with her sexuality as on "Circus" and "Radar" (actually carried over from her last album), not when she's declaring it as on the stupid "Mmm Papi" or the even stupider "If You Seek Amy" which apparently, if you say it fast, sounds like "F-U-C-K Me". How clever. But her personality and self-awareness is most evident and best put to use on the sultry "Blur" which is, despite "Piece of Me", her most autobiographical song to date. It's about waking up not remembering what you did last night, but you what she did. Naughty girl.
WHAT'S NOT SO GOOD: Britney can't sing a note in tune to save her life. And this is way too evident on "My Baby" a song dedicated to her sons. The song is like an untrained dog in your house. Cute but gross. Ballads aren't really her thing, because as sincere the lyrics may be, there's no denying Britney has probably lost touch with what's real and what's tabloid fodder. And you want it to get out. Another major weakness is that the production here feels more like her third self titled album Britney, which has her testing the waters again with the sexy songs. "Shattered Glass" would have been fine in 2001, but now it just feels outdated.
SOOOO0....: Although Miss Spears has had a great comeback so far (her first number one in 10 years with "Womanizer" and three moonmen plus other awards), there's nothing that comes close to an artistic progression here. There are moments when she steps out a bit such as on "Blur" or "Amnesia" (which is not on the US version, and you wish she'd push it a little further. But for the most part, this is safer territory than Dido's latest album. And that's saying something.
Overall, it's good for Britney to try to get her act together and all, but self-aware this album is not. Britney's life may be a circus but she isn't the ringmaster.
THERE'S THIS SONG I LIKE: "Womanizer" "Blur" "Amnesia"
ARTIST WEBSITE: Britney Spears

album reviewed: dido plays it safe...again..

ARTIST: Dido
ALBUM: Safe Trip Home
RATING: OOO
hazim and the new asymptotes
hey. hazim here...again. I am a self confessed Dido fan who loved and loved and loved her last album Life For Rent and No Angel and I must admit for five years, the wait for her third major release ( her first album Odds and Ends) doesn't count. It was a mixtape thingy) has been long and grueling
WHAT'S GOOD: What separated Dido from her soft-voiced counterparts (namely Sarah McLachlan, Jem, KT Tunstall) was the backdrop her voice always snuggled up against her older brother's electronic production. Here, that electronic is almost absent. Rollo's had to make way for ambient producer Brian Eno with a multitude of guests ranging from a Fleetwood Mac member to Citizen Cope ("Burnin Love is the song and he apears towards the last half of it with his signature sit-on-the-couch-and-sing delivery). The ambiance does her flat voice good, especially when she's sprouting personal lines that could have been taken right out of her diary. The very personal "Grafton Street" and "The Day Before The Day" deal with the death of her father. "Don't Believe In Love" deals with her fear f intimacy And so on. The Bridget Jones Diary themes passing by like familiar dreams. This is her most personal work and it's more gratifying for it.
WHAT'S NOT SO GOOD: This album, despite the stunning production value courtesy of Brian Eno can only go so far. As personal as the lyrics are, you kind of wish she'd let some of that gut wrenching emotion into her whispery soft voice. Just imagine how incredible it'd sund. True, her voice is limited as heard on several songs where she tries to pull off a falsetto. But the deadpan Sheryl Crow delivery is a bit disappointing. Especially when there's no electronica or bleeps and buzzes to hide the flaw. This album has no killer sngle and Dido doesn't seem to mind (although her label is trying everything in their power to make it a success a la Life For Rent with their promotional stints with the I Phone and Nectar and 11 short films being filmed and lah blah blah, this album still comes in second on the charts behind a rerelease of Leona Lewis's debut on the charts). If this hits a million, I'll buy another physical copy of Safe Trip Home.
SOOOO0....: Dido does the same thing that she's known for. She's the queen of easy listening. Like Sade was back in her prime. But even Sade took a few creative leaps here and there. This isn't a bad album. The emotional and production layers peel away with repeated listens but on the surface, it's just another Dido affair. And naming it SAFE Trip Home doesn't help either. Neither does putting a tiny laughable astronaut on the cover. But I'm a Dido fan through and through and hopefully, this presents a new possible direction for her in the future.
THERE'S THIS SONG I LIKE: "Grafton Street" "The Day Before The Day" "Let's Do The Things We Normally Do"
ARTIST WEBSITE: Dido