[NEW RELEASES]Britney Spears

Britney Spears has recently tapped into a unique talent: Despite being a hot mess in her personal life, she’s been amazingly prolific in the past year.

When she came back in October 2007 with “Blackout,” she did so in a big way. But is “Circus,” released just over a year later, a worthy follow-up?

No. I don’t know how any artist could manage to crank out hits with Britney’s personal life, and as a result, Circus is an uneven mix of killers and a lot of filler.

The disc starts out strong enough, with the infectious “Womanizer” and “Circus,” her first two singles. But, to borrow a line from the intro of “Kill the Lights,” when she “interrupts her program of dance music” to bring us slow jams like “Out from Under” and “My Baby,” it’s painful.

Take a hint, Brit, and stick to the infectious beats of “Shattered Glass” and trance-like air of “Unusual You,” and stop cramming too many syllables into songs a la “If U Seek Amy.” But you do look fab on your album cover.

By Hannah Bae

Britney Spears

“Circus”

Label: Zomba

Genre: Pop