Okay, I finally stopped shaking, crying and jizzing over how fabulous the album is long enough to write a review.
Femme Fatale is definitely Britney's most musically adventurous album to date and features some great production from hit makers like Max Martin and Dr. Luke as well as Bloodshy.
Femme Fatale is far superior to previous album,
Circus and is on par with her 2007 masterpiece,
Blackout. Now on to each individual track.
1. "Till The World Ends" - The song opens with the line, "This kitten got your tongue tied in knots I see"and it only gets better from there. Ke$ha co-wrote the track and her influence is heard throughout but Britney sounds much better singing it than Ke$ha would. The chorus of "Oh"s is extremely catchy and you will be singing along by the end of the song.
2. "Hold It Against Me" - Everyone has heard this one by now. It was a great comeback track for Britney, up-tempo, catchy and featuring a great dubstep inspired breakdown.
3. "Inside Out" - This track is definitely a future single contender. It features references to past hits and even includes the line, "hit me one more time." It's a mid-tempo track but the verses are delivered quickly by Brit creating an interesting juxtaposition. It's about a volatile relationship that Britney knows should end but the sex is just too good to lose.
4. "I Wanna Go" - This HAS to be the next single. It's an up-tempo number about masturbation and features a genius whistle section while Britney squeals, "Shame on me, to need release. Uncontrollably." The only way to describe this song is FUCKING EPIC. Go YouTube it. Like, right now.
5. "How I Roll" - This track stands out as the strangest song on the album, but in a good way. I have never heard anything like it and it suits Brit perfectly. It 's basically about drinking and partying and I'm pretty sure at one point she purrs, "You can be my fuck tonight." I <3 slutty Britney.
6. "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" - This is a good dance track. However it is kind of generic with cheesy lyrics and a horrendous rap from an up and coming California rapped named Sabi. The catchy chorus and Britney's great delivery save it however and it sounds great on a Friday night after a few shots.
7. "Seal It With A Kiss" - This is the sexiest song on the album for me. It's about a couple who pretend that they're not together while in public but steal away to the shadows for some raunchy fun when no one is looking. The chorus sounds like one long sighing orgasm and I love it.
8. "Big Fat Bass" - This track was produced by and features Will.i.Am whom I despise so for me this is the low point of the album. I wish Brit had stayed far away from Will.i.Am. The song however is better than I expected and Will.i.Am's rap is mercifully brief. The chorus goes, "I can be your treble baby, you can be my bass" but unfortunately no one told Britney that treble is not pronounced "trouble."
9. "Trouble For Me" - I really love this track. Britney sounds surprisingly great and the breakdown right before the chorus is extremely catchy. It's about an extremely charming, attractive man that everyone wants but when he and Britney are together it's always a disaster but she just can't resist.
10. "Trip To Your Heart" - This is a mid-tempo track that literally sounds like a cosmic glitter explosion. I really don't know what else to say about it. I like it but I don't love it.
11. "Gasoline" - This song gets the album back on track with a great dance beat and catchy lyrics. I constantly find myself singing, "When the music goes up and the sun goes down, lightning strikes and I'm on the ground." It's classic, pop perfection Britney.
12. "Criminal" - This track is a perfect way to end the album. It kind of comes out of left-field and sounds relatively acoustic when compared with the rest of the album. It features a flute and guitar and details the story of an extremely douchey guy that Britney can't help but love. She addresses her mother singing, "Mama I'm in love with a criminal and this kind of love isn't rational, it's physical." The song features Britney's best vocals since the
Oops...I Did It Again era and I was extremely excited to hear her actually singing as opposed to purring and moaning.
Overall the album is quite possibly Britney's best offering yet but I'll put-off that official ruling for a few months to see how the tracks hold up over time. I highly recommend that everyone head over to iTunes now to pre-order the album, or if you're a psycho super-fan like me you can head to her official site and order the deluxe fan edition which comes with a hardcover book filled with over 60 pages of photos for a reasonable $70. Or I suppose you could just find a link somewhere and download it for free but if you do, remember that you're essentially stealing from me since I'm currently a Music Industry major looking to work for a record label within the next 6-months. So please don't steal from me, or my girl Brit.
-JK
