A commentary on Blackout (Dolby Atmos Music) by Britney Spears

Any positive news concerning the body of work of Britney Spears, the unbreachable and ubiquitous celebrity extraterrestrial and a personal god, is cause for celebration. Thankfully, thirst for Spears music can now be quenched with the Dolby Atmos Music spatial audio update. For connoisseurs and frequenters of the original 2007 release, this new aural immersion carves out sharper depths and details in the mix. Previously unheard, we can now apparently pinpoint the genesis of Katy Perry’s entire sound (“Ooh Ooh Baby”), a seed in Pharrell Williams’ mind of Ariana Grande’s Sweetener (“Why Should I Be Sad”), while the Pussycat Dolls’ ephemeral discography can be completely knocked back quick in “Perfect Lover”.

“Radar” gets the most obvious treatment, a buzzier and dizzier affair, its phasered harmonies whipping the chorus around; “Toy Soldier” is painted similarly, squelching to great effect. Wielding a wide and ominous spectrum of frequencies, “Get Naked (I Got a Plan)” is an eviler twin to the processed Atari lasers of “Gimme More”, now featuring some heavier sidechain compression on the background vocals. “Piece of Me” practically features Swedish pop auteur Robyn, coming off rockier than any of their previous material. With interplanetary strings, skittering percussion, and Spears’ unmistakeable tone and delivery, pushed and spread out into the audio forefront, the Dolby Atmos version of Blackout is essentially a sci-fi pop album.

It’s easier to hear the transition from the post-In The Zone rebellious impunity, performed with blistering sexuality and electricity in “My Prerogative”, “Do Somethin’”, and “I’ve Just Begun (Having My Fun)”, to the pulsating, ruinous after hours of Blackout. By and large, the potation of Britney Spears produced a spatial sound and pop music magnum opus, the purest distillation of 2000’s pop music. If her creative cabinet runneth permanently dry, Blackout will forever serve as the perfect aperitif; the Dolby Atmos update a clean and biting gin and tonic to the original’s scandalous shot of tequila.