The gleaming surfaces of
Piece by Piece
offers evidence that during the four-year hiatus between 2011's
Stronger
and this 2015 release,
Kelly Clarkson
and
19
/
BMG
spent considerable time figuring out which direction she should pursue as she entered the second phase of her career. Instead of consolidating the assured mature pop of
,
refurbishes
Kelly
, piling on EDM accouterments and finding her singing cuts co-written by such successful contemporary pop hitmakers as
Sia
("Invincible"),
Matthew Koma
("Someone"), and
MoZella
("Take You High") on an album largely produced by
Greg Kurstin
, who has had hits with
Tegan and Sara
Ellie Goulding
, and
Lily Allen
. Previously,
Kurstin
proved to be a good fit for
-- he produced three cuts on
, including its title track -- and his decision on
is to emphasize sound, not song.
Clarkson
nevertheless performs as powerfully as ever, as illustrated by
's "Let Your Tears Fall" with its appealing nocturnal pulse, "Good Goes the Bye" floating upon its percolating beats, and "Nostalgic," a nifty piece of neo-new wave. These cuts, along with the title track, manage to strike the right balance of
's indomitable character and fresh electronic beats. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine