Saturday, January 17, 2009

#34 Britney Spears, "Break The Ice"



It's been a while
I know I shouldn't a kept you waiting
But I'm here now


From the first time I listened to Britney Spears's 2007 album Blackout, "Break The Ice" was my favorite previously unheard (i.e., not "Gimme More") track, and in 2007 this song would have ranked even higher, even if the field had been of similar strength. A dark and, yes, icy pop song, "Break The Ice" is coated in delicious oohed backing vocals and crisp synths that sometimes leave the song feeling like it's been superimposed on top of some sort of ominious religious chant. Britney's voice is one of the most undervalued in the pop business for the sake of its very sound, and it's never been more at home than it is in this song. Like "The One," there's something spacey about "Break The Ice," but while "The One" takes you on some sort of glorious if slightly sad cosmic journey, "Break The Ice" shows you the universe's dark underbelly. Pop rarely sounds so effortlessly...flawless.

Find it on: Blackout

2 comments:

Aaron said...

I've overplayed this to the extent of sickening - and the video did nothing to help that - but I do remember liking it - It's just lost it's magic for me...

Poster Girl said...

I know exactly what you mean--that hasn't happened to me with "Break The Ice" but overplaying and "losing the magic" has hurt many a song for me, including some that should be much higher on this list.