It's hard to talk about Britney Spears' new album without thinking about how she has done everything to destroy the carefully constructed persona built over years of her career: the non-musical escapades of recent years, from her divorce to the out-of-control photos, to the custody battle for her sons, weigh heavily. Of course, it's not solely her fault: the media has pounced on her like sharks on defenseless prey.... Even if one could manage to do so, they'd be reminded of Britney's first musical outing, her recent one at the MTV VMAs: out of shape, offbeat in dance and music. If one were to forget even that, there would be the CD itself, which features a tacky booklet, with Britney posing in fishnet stockings, inside a confessional and on the lap of a handsome priest.
In short, with characters like Britney, it's difficult to talk solely about music, because they do everything to prevent it, for better or for worse. “Blackout” is the return album of Britney Spears, and we are happy that she is back to making music. We aren't surprised that she plays a little on everything that has happened to her, in the songs and in the images (the booklet also contains a photo with a fair amount of crumpled tabloids) and in songs like “Piece of Me,” even though unfortunately the booklet does not contain the lyrics.
Musically, “Blackout” is neither better nor worse than other Britney albums. Perhaps a bit more melodic, with songs always hyper-produced, as is the case with albums at this level. Not to be nostalgic, but where has the simple pop of the past gone? Nevertheless, today's songs from Britney are a bit more catchy than in her recent efforts. In fact, they are even less recognizable, as our girl's voice is often treated with vocoders and similar effects. As some reviews abroad have already noted (see news), in the end, “Blackout” is a musically respectable project, even if it could belong to some other singer, since often Britney is not recognizable, except in the images.
That's the point: Britney is proof of how often the monsters created by marketing risk consuming themselves. This has happened to many other artists, even those with less talent than Britney (who is far from lacking), and even to those with more talent than her. Rarely has it happened with such violence. Alas, we hope we are wrong, but it won't be a more than respectable album like this that lifts a career in free fall due to non-musical reasons, which in some ways are the same that, along with perfect pop songs that then got lost along the way, had propelled her into a stratosphere of celebrity that feels very distant now.
