May 04, 2008

Australian pop pixie Kylie Minogue marks a return to the pop arena with, as the album title suggests, her tenth studio release after almost four years. The undisputed queen of the dance floor releases this album following a tough battle against breast cancer during which she was supported by her diehard fans.

She celebrated her recovery with an array of activities such as a documentary film titled White Diamond, ITV1’s The Kylie Show, a children’s book based on her life called The Showgirl Princess last year and, of course, her famous comeback tour.

Another factor that fascinates this writer about the album is the large number of people who’ve worked on it: The album was worked on by 14 producers and 26 writers on board. The album kicks off with Two Hearts taking you back to the days of Minogue smash hits Spinning Around and Can’t Get You Outta My Head. Two Hearts is a signature Minogue dance floor banger that promises to stay up the charts for quite some time.

Like a Drug features a sample of a new romantic era techno group Visage’s Fade to Grey while the Kalvin Harris-produced In Your Arms is an appealing number that recalls the attractive charisma of Love At First Sight, making it a must listen.

Moving on to some experimentation, one comes across Speakerphone that has the writing credit of Swedish hit-writing duo Bloodshy and Avant (of Britney’s Toxic fame); Kylie goes robotic using the vocoder here. The track is produced by Karlsson (of Britney’s Blackout fame) and is musically quite strong but it’s the lyrical content like “Breath taking/ Rump shaking/ Music making/ Lose control/ Say it on your speakerphone/ Track repeat go on and on” which is just too juvenile.

Sensitized is a Serge Gainsbourg sample and is one of the strongest tracks on the record showing off Kylie’s incredible vocal range.

However, the highlight of the album comes with One where Minogue mesmerises the listener with the chorus lyrics. The strum of gentle guitar riffs fused with soothing vocal harmonies makes this track a treat for Kylie lovers.

The track Stars is no different; tinted with electric guitar chords and attention-grabbing chorus, it’s a decent number. No More Rain is a soft and divine reflection on the beauty of life and who can express it better than a person who has won the battle against a life-threatening disease.

Calvin Harris holds the producer’s seat once more for Heart Beat Rock which comes as a major disappointment due to its run-of-the-mill beat and vulgar lyrics. Minogue should learn that she is not in the age of doing the same kind of music that Gwen Stefani does.

The mood becomes mellow in All I See which is a heart-wrenching ballad followed by a real floor shaker, Wow, which is as good as its title suggests. It’s infectious, exhilarating and full of electro-sexiness. However, the ultimate saucy side of Minogue comes in the form Nu Di Ty.

The album comes to a halt with Cosmic which is undoubtedly her best vocal show throughout the album.

Kylie Minogue’s latest offering is in no way comparable to her previous chart-topping albums. However, the only healthy update which can be extracted out from X is that she is safe and sound and back in the business. — Shahzeb Shaikh