On paper, yet another svelte, disco-tinged reworking of an Elton John classic is nothing to get too excited about. Last year the Dua Lipa-assisted Cold Heart fused Rocket Man, Sacrifice, Kiss the Bride and Where’s the Shoorah? Here, it’s Tiny Dancer mixed with The One and a dash of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. Still, Hold Me Closer skips along nicely, a chunky bassline gliding through the song like a train of sequin-clad revellers at a 70s roller-disco. There are even some jazzy piano flourishes at the end for the Bösendorfer fetishists.
But this is no ordinary streaming-friendly curio from a legend looking to fluff their back catalogue. Marking the return of Britney Spears on her first recording since the termination of her almost 14-year conservatorship last year, it comes tinged with something close to bittersweet; an example of what could have been if Spears’ megawatt pop-superstar shine hadn’t been dimmed all those years ago.
