Glory (Deluxe)
On her ninth album, Britney Spears sounds happy to have settled into her status as a grande dame of forward-thinking pop. Downtempo offerings like the gauzy come-on “Make Me...,” the reggae-inflected Tinashe duet “Slumber Party,” and the cooing “Man On the Moon” put Spears’ sensual side on full display. On the wide-eyed, bouncy “Clumsy,” the swaggering “Do You Wanna Come Over?,” and the vampy “What You Need,” she gets playful over booming beats. This expanded deluxe edition includes fresh remixes of “Mood Ring” and the brand-new single “Matches,” a glossy collaboration with the Backstreet Boys that feels like a longtime dream come true for early-aughts pop fanatics.
By eschewing EDM and embracing subtler pop sounds, Britney’s made her most daring album in years.