Everyone seems to be waiting for her latest train wreck. After all the public meltdowns, crotch shots and her appalling performance opening MTV's VMAs show in September, her new album has to be a joke, right?

Not so fast.

Does "Blackout" contain high-quality songwriting? No. Is it particularly meaningful? Hardly.

But Spears has managed to block out the maelstrom of her personal life to create an album that's almost uniformly energetic, sexy and fun.

"Blackout" has heavy doses of techno beats, and one might expect them to sound dated and out of place. But instead, they sound fresh, as if someone finally thought of adding some digital oomph to contemporary pop and R&B songs.

Things start off weak with Spears declaring, "It's Britney, bitch" to kick off the inane first single, "Gimme More," which has a decent, dark beat that's ruined by her forced, gimmicky vocals. "Piece of Me," Britney's answer to all the tabloid attention, is clever, but doesn't flow smoothly.

But from then on, the album gets better, starting with "Radar's" squelching trance synths and the sultry groove of the Janet Jackson-like "Break the Ice." The next three songs are the album's strongest: The Moroder keyboard-powered "Heaven on Earth" has a dreamy '80s feel mixed with Depeche Mode's haunting side; the stomping electro of "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)" is perfect for a steamy club; and "Freakshow's" quavering keyboard riffs under Milkshake-style vocals just might bring all the boys to the yard.