( CNN ) -- Britney Spears ' latest album is supposed to be intimate , but it 's left a number of critics cold . The 32-year-old singer 's eighth record , `` Britney Jean , '' was officially released on Tuesday after streaming on iTunes for the past week . As early reactions indicated , `` Britney Jean '' is n't quite as warm and inviting as Spears has made it sound . `` I poured my heart and soul into this album , '' Spears told her fans in an open letter on her website . `` I know I keep telling you it is my most personal record yet , but it 's true and I 'm really proud of that . I have been through a lot in the past few years and it has really inspired me to dig deeper and write songs that I think everyone can relate to . '' Yet to Entertainment Weekly , which gave the album a B+ grade , `` Britney Jean '' `` tells you virtually bupkus about her struggles over the years . But in just 10 tidy songs , it brings us closer than ever before to that distant dreamer . '' The Washington Post was n't as gentle in its review , finding that the ironic lack of intimacy on `` Britney Jean '' makes the disc `` instantly forgettable . '' `` The result is n't remotely personal , does n't venture much beyond the usual Britney themes -- fame is confusing , sex is fun , I am a totally normal person with the same worries as you , let 's dance -- and will do nothing to reassure anyone that the once familiar , pre-2007 Britney is in there anywhere , '' the review says . The Atlantic agrees , dismissing `` Britney Jean '' as Spears ' `` most disappointing release yet , a snoozefest of shallow mid-tempos and limp club tracks that chase trends rather than invent them . And the glimpses into Britney Jean Spears , the artist , are , frankly , neither interesting nor informative . '' The Los Angeles Times warns that `` whatever unique skills Spears once had -- what were they again , anyway ? -- 'Britney Jean ' suggests she better prepare herself for the reality that she 's losing them fast . ... There 's very little beneath the album 's many cliches to suggest insight , let alone the unfiltered honesty of autobiography . '' That said , if you 're a fan of post-2007 Spears , which includes the smash album `` Blackout , '' then `` Britney Jean '' might be your cup of dance-pop tea . Rolling Stone gave Spears ' effort three-and-a-half stars , appraising `` Britney Jean '' as continuing `` the roll she 's been on in recent years . ... Like her excellent late-summer electro-sleaze hit , 'Work B***h , ' 'Britney Jean ' adds up the high price of stardom . It 's a concept album about the loneliness of pop life -- with a high-profile broken engagement behind her , Brit gets personal and drops her most bummed-out music ever . '' MTV , too , was able to see the heart underneath the driving beat . `` Most of the tracks sound like a wild night out , '' the network said in an early review . But added `` it 's when you dig under all the reverb and EDM beats that you hear that 'Britney Jean ' really is coming from her heart -- one beating at 500 miles an hour . ''
Britney Spears ' eighth studio album was released on December 3 . The record , `` Britney Jean , '' is intended to be more intimate . Yet some critics have found the disc to be impenetrable .