Sheer pop perfection; after
twenty-five years in the ‘music-biz’ (yes, you heard right, twenty-five years)
and with her twelfth album under her belt, Kylie has definitely not strayed
from her roots as the ‘Princess of Pop.’ Some may have thought that Kylie would
have drifted from the norm and started to change her style, preferring to belt
out ‘pearls of wisdom, to her teems of loyal fans; but instead Kylie has
decided to stick to the harmlessly up-beat tracks that made her famous right
back at the start. However she is not alone. Kylie’s most recent album has been
added to, produced, edited and helped by a stardom of different celebrities
including Pharrell Williams, Sia, Haim, Enrique Iglesias and many, many (many)
others, and with her current stint on the popular BBC1 show ‘The Voice,’ I
reckon this album is going to be big; so with no further a due, onto the
review.
We
start with the leading song that should reach out and grab us and ‘Into the
Blue’ does not disappoint. Kylie uses this song to reflect on her life in the
spotlight whilst using rising string chords mixed with synthesisers to really
pull in the crowd. The song has a strong core and is really an electronic dance
music track but it still has a sense of Kylie’s original roots however they
have been brought right up to the future to get us pop lovers bopping to it’s
catchy riffs. The strings bring a beautiful sound to the track and the strong
drumbeats give the song uplift. The chorus reminds us exactly why Kylie has so
many fans! The quality of her voice is strong and projects over the mix of
synth, drums and strings and I couldn’t help
but enjoy this pop creation. ‘Handbags at the ready girls; lets go dancing!’ We
then move quickly onto the song ‘Million Miles’ this starts with the guitar
riffs that really pull the listener in; Kylie is like a musical temptress as
she calls us like a siren into her ultimately girly pop hit. Her voice sounds
extremely edited and has a robot like quality however the song pumps the
listener’s mood higher and you cannot help but be pulled into the song. This has
POP written all over it! The song uses the slight over repetition of the
lyrics, ‘it feels like,’ and ‘a million, million, feeling like a million miles
away,’ however the second use of synthesisers brings the song into the current
music scene and you can see this being played in University Student Unions all
over the country.
‘I
was Gonna Cancel’ is a perfect mix of Pharrell Williams stereotypical funk
mood, and the psychedelic pop of Kylie. The two fit seamlessly together and
Pharrell really adds a needed ‘punch’ to the album. Pharrell is ‘hot’ right
now, after his top track ‘Happy’ and by including him on the album it gives
Kylie’s album a sense of fun and contemporary which is much needed to give a
boost to this album. The songs are catchy but they need a sense of groove that
Pharrell most certainly brings to the table. Absolutely brilliant! I really
enjoyed this song as it not only included the typical pop sounds associated but
also included the unusual arrangement of bells, and cherubic warbling in the
background that certainly made this song stand out to me; I will not be
forgetting this song for a while. Lyrics include, ‘shut out all the doubt, just get up and go,’ and ‘what's on the other side?’
The only slight problem I found was the chorus that ultimately was the
repetition of the word, ‘go.’ Although I love what Pharrell has done, maybe a
couple of different words in the chorus? (Just a suggestion!) ‘Sexy Love’ and ‘Kiss
Me Once’, both hark back to Kylie’s roots and are the epitome of her classics
with Waterman. They have a sense of nostalgia for the 80’s and this is what
Kylie is honestly best at. Lyrics from ‘Sexy Love,’ include ‘you look so sexy
in my head, you look so sexy in my bed.’ Kylie is a siren and these songs
epitomise her ability to churn out pop power. However as I sunk into the two
songs, I was suddenly surprised by one track; this was the song ‘Sexercise.’ I
assumed that this would be a typical song much like the earlier tracks, however
it has a remixed, dub-step feel that can only be connected to Sia Furler, who
helped produce the track. This track is brought right up-to-date and in many
reviews was compared to the singer Rihanna (which can only be a good thing!)
The song mixes vibrating dub-step beats with Kylie’s sweet and innocent lyrics,
it really brings an interesting mix to the table. Throughout the album I have
seen a definite change in Kylie’s stereotypical songs and this added a fresh
feeling that has lead me to the listen to the song a number of times.
The
only duet and ballad on the album is with Enrique Iglesias; this song screams a
mixture of techno funk and pop power. The song is a beautiful ending to the
album and finally gives the listener what they have been looking out for. The
lyrics are strong and the love story told through them is beautiful. I wasn’t
so sure on the extreme editing of the voices as they felt over-edited and I
would rather that they has been more exposed to show Kylies ability to sing as
well as she does. Instead it felt at times that her singing was being covered
up. However, I know that this song will be doing the rounds of the charts in no
time at all! So keep an eye out Kylie fans. Finally we finish with ‘Fine.’ I
was really surprised that the album didn’t finish with ‘Beautiful’ as it is
such a soulful song to then be suddenly pushed back into Kylie’s pop-land was a
surprise. However the song is upbeat and has a funk feel that reflects back to
the earlier tracks in the album. Throughout the album there has been a real
change in the songs produced and think this has really helped to bring Kylie
up-to- date and keep her sounding current and fresh. This album is definitely
worth a couple of listens, however if you are not an extreme Kylie fan I can
see the repetition and the lack of real grit starting to play on the nerves of
some listeners. However, you cannot deny that Kylie still reigns as the
ultimate ‘pop princess.’
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