There's been a lot of talk about the “adult” attitude of Britney Spears' new album, in stores Tuesday.

        Don't believe it. She may say “damn” in “Overprotected” and get all hot and bothered in “Boys,” but that's as grown-up as Britney gets.

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        Still, she wants everyone to think this is a big step forward, so she opens the 12-song set with “I'm a Slave 4 U” and the spoken introduction, “I may be young, but I've got feelings, too, and I need to do what I feel like doing. So let me go, and just listen.”

        Britney is filled with those little declarations of independence. On “Overprotected” she sings, “Say hello to the girl that I am. You're gonna have to see through my perspective.”

        Musically, Britney has a few different wrinkles. The disc's retro-bubble gum/psychedelic look is echoed in the '70s disco flourishes on “Anticipating.”

        She also looks back with a cover of “I Love Rock 'n' Roll.” She does a better job here than she did on “Satisfaction.” The choice of song is smarter, too, Joan Jett being much less of an icon than the Stones.

        Still, one can't help wondering if Ms. Spears loves rock 'n' roll, why doesn't she sing any of it? Instead, Britney has a little rap, a lot of electro-dance music, and in “I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” she manages a credible ballad.

        The last is a risk. Ms. Spears is no Christina, Celine or Mariah, and her little-girl voice is stretched to the max in ballad mode. But like her mentor, Madonna, she covers her weaknesses well.

        Her boyfriend, 'NSync's Justin Timberlake, co-wrote and appears on the last cut, “What It's Like to Be Me,” another of her defiant anthems (“This is my game, my rules”). There's also a boy-band feeling to “That's Where You Take Me,” with its chorus reminiscent of Backstreet Boys' “I Want It That Way.”

        But this is Britney's show (she even co-wrote several of the songs). She's spent a lot of time doing sit-ups and shows off the results in myriad midriff-baring photos, including a mini-poster, the back of that teases “Britney's new movie coming soon 2002.”

        While it may make a few nods to maturity, Britney is pure, PG teen-pop, aimed at the same teen-age girls who made her a star in the first place. Britney may not aim high, but it hits the mark.

       Britney Spears performs 7 p.m. Saturday at Firstar Center. Tickets $39.50-$75 at Ticketmaster, 562-4949.
       

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