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 "Shattered Glass" would have been fine in 2001, but now it just feels outdated.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