Robbie Williams releases new album “BRITPOP,” his 13th solo album, and the result sometimes sounds like a trip down memory lane but often plays as an bold rewriting of history. As an essential album in his career, "BRITPOP" doesn’t just arrive with intent. Williams is currently level-pegging with The Beatles on 15 UK number one albums, and this has got the weight, and hunger, of someone aiming to become his own record-breaker.
Spread over 11 standard edition tracks and a sprawling 17-track deluxe, "BRITPOP" positions itself as the record Williams says he would have made if, having exited Take That now brandishing everything he’s learned in that time, itched and armed with all of that knowledge today. That outlook is what gives the project its bite. It’s reflective without falling into softness, confident without straying into excess and propelled by a definite creative vision. The album’s wild, ceaseless energy is apparent from the track opener Rocket with Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes onwards. Rocket looms large as a statement, loud, unapologetic, and deeply rooted in rock ambition, and that attitude is part of why it’s Williams personal favorite on the album.
Pretty Face turns the attention to memory and culture and serves as Williams’ DeLorean Moment, returning her to 1995. Evoking the time-defining power of Late Night Television, the sounds of Nirvana, Oasis, and Happy Mondays, "BRITPOP" links arms with the cultural pulse that once defined a generation. This feels like a link between past and present, grounded in reverence but filtered through a contemporary perspective.
The album gets more contemplative with “Human,” which features Jesse & Joy. Williams wonders at the unknown, technology, and immortality, doubting a future in which humanity can be superceded. It’s considered, measured and emotionally felt, not to mention a crucial layer in the album’s larger arc. Total listening time of exactly an hour, and rather than a collection of singles, "BRITPOP" reads like a piece in its entirety. Including more guest appearances on the deluxe edition, with Laura Pausini, Robbie Williams proves that he can keep evolving while sounding truly like himself. "BRITPOP" is a resurrection, but not simply that, one with momentum and passion behind it for a legacy.
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