In a tidal wave of publicity sequel to Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) sees Her even more made-over Madge-esty reunites with British producer Stuart Price in a extremely dance-able 15th LP with a collection of club styles from disco, house, trance and electro-pop in one continuous 63-minute mix, artfully mainstream yet referencing the underground, and echoing many memories and past songs. On standout Danceteria, named after the original club, recalling her love affair with the dancefloor of late 70s/early New York scene, she namechecks well-known figures including Basquiat, Keith Haring, Nile Rodgers and David Byrne, but also Martin Burgoyne, who was an early collaborator and roommate on the Lower East Side, Haoui Montaug, who as was a doorman and promoter at Danceteria and Studio 54, DJ and producer Mark Kamins who helped launch her career in 1982. On that light-rapping middle eight, there are also mention of hip-hop scene graffiti artist Fab Five Freddy (Fred Brathwaite), and with that mention, musically there are echoes of Blondie’s Rapture, samples of Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side, some vibe of Madonna’s own Vogue, and a melange of infectiously interwoven dance music styles, while Madge herself has shapes a singing style not unlike her much admired younger friend Kylie Minogue. Nostalgia is very much what it used to be here on a “everyone is a work of art” and throughout the album.
Opener I Feel So Free is a celebration of the escapism and creative personas of the bohemian scene that opened a young Madonna’s eyes. Another strong entry is the following One Step Away, beginning with the slightly pretentious spoken announcement that: “People think that dance music is superficial / But they've got it all wrong / The dance floor is not just a place, it's a threshold / A ritualistic space where movement replaces language.” Yes, in a way, but also, hmm, follow your own instruction perhaps, and just get up and dance. Nevertheless, there’s no denying the strength and momentum and simple message of the release, cleverly put together with a Price and tight team of co-songwriters. There’s duet with younger pop princess, Sabrina Carter on the defiant, take-no-bullshit Bring Your Love, there a down-and-dirty vibe to Everything, pure disco with a 90s distortion on Love Sensation, the trance-adjacent pop of Love Without Words, the wonderfully catchy synth-pop of Bizarre (joined by Martin Garrix), one that may well refer to the one that got away, her 1980s marriage to Sean Penn: “Movie star, deep blue eyes / In Hollywood we’re a perfect prize / He drove way too fast / Shelby Cobra wasn’t meant to last.” Then the woozily wonky School, while My Sins Are My Savior (featuring Stromae) has echoes of Justify My Love. The dance music does let up. On the slower, darker Betrayal there’s trumpet and the use of Erik Satie piano melody. The Test includes a strong vocal performance from guest Lola Leon, and finally, the rather beautiful L.E.S. Girl (double-edged title short for Lower East Side) perhaps makes a confession about anoher relationship : “He played guitar on St. Mark's Place / Had a Marlon Brando face / Painted nails the same shade as his boots / Bleach blonde dirty roots.” And yet in this swirling mix of music and memory and desire, as she puts it: “Everything fades away, everything fades away.” Definitely a return to form in what feels like a full-career celebration. Out on Warner Records.
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