28/6/10
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The Queen of Britpop (even though she’s not technically British) returns.
Kylie is as much a British treasure as a bacon sarnie, her music has redefined
the dance outlook too and she has employed Madonna’s legendary sidekick, Stuart Price to help out too.
Price co-writes debut single, the booming, moving ‘All the Lovers’. It really is a celebration of dancefloor anthems and the drops employed here
are as powerful as they are stellar. ‘Aphrodite’ isn’t so much a song title as a track philosophy as Minogue effortlessly moves from
fast-paced, almost rapping style to longer, smoother notes. It’s got everything you’d expect as Kylie screams: “I am the original/I am the only one” – as if it was ever in doubt!
I’m sure Ms. Minogue is fully aware of her immense gay following and ‘Better than Today’, featuring lyrics like: “what’s the point of living if you don’t wanna dance” and it’s Mika-like silly dance feel, seems to have been styled for this demographic.
For any fans of ‘Fever’, ‘Can’t Beat the Feeling’ is pretty much for you. Featuring Pricey on the decks, some dance-orientated
pulse-setters and smooth electronic grooves, this is classic Kylie. Things go
seriously up-tempo on the vibrating, thumping vibes of ‘Get Outta My Way’, which is almost like drowning someone with an immense noise epic – still a great tune though and more what you’d expect.
‘Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)’ can only have been written with some epic performances in front of crowds in
mind. It’s almost like saying Kylie wishes she had the love she had from her fans in real
life, which if it is true, is quite tragic, but it’s not presented that way at all.
Darker and edgier disco beats are the law of the land on ‘Closer’, which I personally think works as well, if not better than her rather more
lively signature style as it allows her voice to dictate the pace – which no-one does better. Fraser T. Smith’s ‘Everything is Beautiful’ features a strong structure and allows Kylie’s voice to roam once more, making it tremendously catchy.
Stuart Price’s reputation as a DJ is further enhanced by the untouchable build-up of ‘Illusion’, it just disappoints when the song’s make-up is revealed – lacking any real invention and very much a filler. Calvin Harris’ stamp is all over ‘Too Much’, though again the beat rather takes over from Kylie and she struggles to keep
up – ironic really. It’s still a decent tune but not the best here.
The best beat award goes to ‘Cupid Boy’ and Kylie’s vocals soar nicely in-sync with this massively-powerful effort. ‘Looking for an Angel’ is almost choir-like and has its charms too.
Released - 30/6/10
Label - Parlophone
11th studio album
- All the Lovers
- Get Outta My Way
- Closer
- Everything is Beautiful
- Aphrodite
- Better Than Today
- Cupid Boy
- Looking for An Angel
Pretty damn impressive from Kylie and another artist who shows that there is an
art to creating
dancefloor anthems, something she seems to do so effortlessly. It’s playing it very safe though, but still a great record.
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9.5
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First he wanted to be your ‘Hero’, now he wants to be your dancefloor buddy.
The sometimes crooning, always posing, Latino pretty boy, Enrique, returns with
his 9th and 1st bilingual release.
Second single, ‘I Like It’ teams Enrique with rapper, Pitbull and the ever-talented RedOne on the decks.
It seems Enrique has done his homework as this particular dream team produces a
catchy dancefloor anthem that’s a storming opener. There’s also a little needless Lionel Richie ‘All Night Long’ quoting which is slightly irrelevant. Serial collaborator Akon guests on the
slightly dreary ‘One Day at a Time’ and RedOne provides a more discreet backing. It’s chilled and easy but it would have been nice to hear more Iglesias and less
Akon.
A striking piano beat sets the scene for ‘Heartbeat’ as Enrique takes the starring role alongside Pussycat Dolls stalwart, Nicole
Scherzinger. It’s slightly reminiscent of other pop hits, but essentially a high-impact love
song which works well. RedOne provides his more traditional banging club tune
on ‘Dirty Dancer’, which also features the king of the smooth dance groove, Usher. Enrique’s chorus is particularly memorable and Usher’s cameos are typically well-delivered.
Enrique goes back to his mushy ‘Hero’ roots as his diehard fans breathe a huge sigh of relief on ‘Why Not Me?’. It’s just that, a slushy love song that sees him whine more than sing. The first
bilingual effort is ‘No Me Digas Que No’ with reggae duo, Wisin & Yandel. Naturally, I have no idea what they’re on about but it is a fairly catchy pop tune with a strong, dance-orientated
and stringsy beat. ‘Ayer’ is more in the style of the typical Iglesias ballad, with some added electro
backing as the tune speeds up. It actually has a nice feel to it and you don’t really need to understand the lingo to enjoy it.
First single, ‘Cuando Me Enamoro’ teams Iglesias up with Dominican crooner, Juan Luis Guerra. It’s a latin-style up-tempo ballad. It actually reminds more of some of the work of
his dad, Julio, than anything Iglesias Junior has ever done. Enrique gets a tad
more emotional on ‘Dile Que’ and you can hear that added attachment in his delivery. Styled as a prog. rock
tune, it’s got a great deal of charm about it. ‘Tú y Yo’ goes back to the dancefloor with a souped-up tempo and some quaint delivery.
Iglesias again assumes the victim role on ‘Heartbreaker’ with a deep and broody RedOne beat. It’s certainly got a lot more life to it than the “morning-after” tune, ‘Coming Home’. Lyrically, it’s very sweet, if a bit typical. ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ features some serious Auto-Tune on another attempt at a club anthem and it’s not the worst try you’ll hear at that. The solo version of ‘No Me Digas Que No’ is a strange and cheesy choice to end with.
Released - 2/7/10
Label - Universal Republic
9th studio album
- Heartbreaker
- Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
- I Like It
- Heartbeat
- Dirty Dancer
- Why Not Me?
- One Day at a Time
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7
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It’s certainly a sign of bravery to do a bilingual record and there’s not really a bad effort here, as all have their motives. He should also be
applauded for not putting out a dodgy club record.
