Divas deliver
Six major pop stars are at it again.
BRITNEY SPEARS, title TBA. Release date: September 17 (lead single).
Britney is entering her Kylie years. Producer Jean Baptiste teased the Toxic singer’s new single – reportedly titled Werk Bitch – by tweeting RuPaul’s Supermodel video, signalling a power play for the gay anthem songbook.
CHER, Closer To The Truth. Release date: September 24.
I’m trying hard to pretend this oft-delayed comeback isn’t happening, but apparently label exes are not. (Or not hard enough.) The newspaper wig Cher wears in the Woman’s World video is what we in the Critics’ World like to call an “interesting failure.”
MILEY CYRUS, Bangerz. Release date: October 8.
A slang word is not allowed to jump the shark until Miley Cyrus has farted it into next Wednesday on live TV. First “twerk,” then “molly” and “turnt.” I will happily light the match near her ass for “ratchet,” “selfie” and “cronut.” She should just call the album Ratchet Selfie Cronut.
KATY PERRY, Prism. Release date: October 22.
Inspired by Robyn (an opener on her California Dreams Tour), Perry spent time in Stockholm working with Swedish producers Klas Åhlund and Bloodshy and Avant on her (early-90s-music-inspired?) third LP. Fingers crossed for a minimal spoken-word house track.
CELINE DION, Loved Me Back To Life. Release date: November 5.
Dion has promised to park the power ballad histrionics in favour of minor-key melodies, dubstepy breakdowns, husky vocals and a cover of Stevie Wonder’s Overjoyed featuring Stevie Wonder. Fingers crossed for a minimal spoken-word house track.
LADY GAGA, ARTPOP. Release date: November 11.
If her Jeff Koons name-checking single Applause is any indication, Lady Gaga’s admirable but losing battle against mediocrity on the pop charts continues. Fortunately, the song titles on her upcoming ARTPOP album (MANiCURE, SexDreams, Swine) bode extremely well.
Kevin Ritchie
MAZZY STAR, Seasons Of Your Day (Rhymes of an Hour). Release date: September 24.
After reconvening a few years ago for 2011’s Common Burn/Lay Myself Down single, California psychedelic alt-rockers Mazzy Star release Seasons Of Your Day, their first album in 17 years, on their own label.
Hope Sandoval’s signature soft croon hasn’t changed, nor has the pace of the music (slow), and the songs sound grittier, darker and more sadly bluesy than ever. Near the end, the late, great Bert Jansch appears on Spoon, a guitar duet with David Roback.
Sarah Greene
HAIM, Days Are Gone (Columbia/Sony). Release date: September 30.
Sisters Este, Alana and Danielle Haim gigged around Los Angeles for six years before figuring out how to record music that sounded like the reverb-drenched, early-80s-AM-radio-pop-meets-90s-R&B-girl-group-harmonies they heard in their heads. Hence the title of last year’s Forever EP. A year later, their long-awaited debut album, Days Are Gone, arrives full of luminous and accessible pop tunes that, if there is any justice, will end up on the radio. One of the year’s best pop albums.
Kevin Ritchie
