Britney Does Best When Avoiding Controversy

Let’s be honest. We’ve reached the point where we consider it an accomplishment if Britney Spears can brush her teeth without flashing paparazzi, endangering her children or hitting someone’s car. It’s a sad state of affairs, one that can’t help but color any positive reviews of Blackout, her latest album. Is it actually an achievement, or are critics merely impressed that Britney was able to pull herself together to produce 12 tracks?

It’s probably a bit of both. To be honest, Blackout is a mindless album, lacking any emotional depth or insight, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying it. It’s not genius—it’s just fun.

Britney knows how to entertain. OK, there was the regrettable incident at this year’s VMA’s, but we can chalk that up to nerves. Her music works the way pop music should: You dance, you sing along, you don’t think too hard. Though Blackout is not as cohesive as 2003’s In the Zone, it proves she still knows how to please her fans.

Because this is a “comeback album,” however, Britney is required to address the setbacks that have plagued her over the past couple years—from high-profile marriage to high-profile divorce, from impromptu head-shaving to the umbrella incident. Not to mention the back-and-forth custody battle that can’t seem to decide if Britney is an unfit parent or not.

This is the moment we’ve been waiting for: Fans are eager to hear Britney’s side of the story. That’s what makes the silly “Piece of Me” all the more unsatisfying. The track is Britney’s response to “the haters,” which at this point probably includes everyone but Chris Crocker, but it employs a kind of willful ignorance that makes it hard to side with the troubled pop star.

“Guess I can’t see no harm / In working and being a mama,” she sings, painting herself as innocent bystander in a media frenzy. And while there’s no denying the paparazzi are as intrusive as she claims, Britney needs to accept some culpability. After all, no one told her to wear a short skirt without underwear or drive with a baby on her lap. Instead of getting at the issues behind her slip-ups, she glosses over them.

It’s clear Britney is unsure of how to present herself. The next track, “Radar,” includes the lyric “Intoxicate me, I’m a lush.” And then there are the alcoholic implications of the album title. Really, though, she’s just trying to be a good mom!

But the truth is, we don’t listen to Britney for the complexity of her lyrics. And although her confused image and lackluster excuses are frustrating, they don’t detract from the persistent danceability of the album. In the end, Blackout actually works because it brushes past the controversy without getting mired in it. It comes down to the music, and, taken as a whole, there are more hits than misses.

“Gimme More” has already been established as a club hit. The track is classic Britney—understated at first, but catchier with each listen; it’s dangerously addictive. The same goes for the other tracks, including “Ooh Ooh Baby,” one of many sexually-charged offerings on the album, and “Heaven on Earth,” bouncy ’80s-influenced pop.

And what of K-Fed, widely considered responsible for Britney’s downfall? He’s mentioned in the last track, “Why Should I Be Sad,” in which the spurned diva sings, “My friends said you would play me / But I just said they’re crazy.” Sadly, it appears as though Britney wasted all her vitriol on the paparazzi, because the much-anticipated attack is more defeated than damaging.

It’s another reminder that Britney’s personal life and her music don’t mix. The moments of autobiography slow Blackout down, but thankfully, never bring the beat to a halt. As a comeback, then, the album may be lacking. As stimulating club music, it’s spot-on.

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