In an ever-shifting pop landscape, there’s something reassuring about Kelly Clarkson. Over the course of seven albums she’s honed her formula of thundering powerpop anthems and sky-scraping ballads, all delivered with the kind of conviction most pop stars ditch after two albums. On Piece By Piece there are also chinks of experimentation; the splintered electronics on Take You High, the Phoenix-esque Nostalgic and the pulsating urgency of Dance With Me. Meanwhile current single Invincible, co-written by Sia, bolts Clarkson’s pin-sharp vocal on to a billowing, chest-clenching backdrop, while the title track picks over broken relationships with typical candour. Only the didactic, Jessie J-esque I Had a Dream mars an album loaded with laser-guided, heartfelt pop.
