Album Review: Kylie Minogue - X (4/5)

It's no secret I'm a big Kylie Minogue fan--have been ever since she conquered charts worldwide in late 2001 with "Can't Get You Out of My Head" from her eighth album, Fever, which is probably my favorite album released this decade. Following her meteoric rise with a string of big hits ("Love at First Sight," "Slow," "I Believe in You," to name a few), Kylie was forced to put her career on hold when she was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 years ago. Having successfully battled the disease, she now returns triumphantly with her tenth studio album, the Roman-named "X."

Despite the illness, as well as her publicized break-up with Olivier Martinez, this is no "woe is me" affair. X is a crackling collection of dance and electro tracks, dripping with the modern production sensibilities of a who's who of pop music's best writers and producers, including Richard Stannard, Cathy Dennis, Guy Chambers, Freemasons, Calvin Harris, and Bloodshy & Avant. The message here is that Kylie is happy to be alive, to be back, to be dancing again, and she's inviting us along for the party.

The album opens with a trio of upbeat electro-drenched tracks. First there's the stomping current hit "2 Hearts," which shows obvious Goldfrapp influence, followed by "Like a Drug" and "In My Arms," which are both similarly melodic dance pop. They're a great start to the set.

"The One" is quickly becoming one of my favorite tracks. The upbeat number is very '80s-sounding, with lots of synth keyboards. This has to be a future single. Also good is mid-tempo "No More Rain," one of the two tracks that do hint at her recent illness, but it's not very heavy handed. The guitar and synth back tracked is a hopeful song about moving on. "Cosmic," the album's only slow track, is the other one. It's theme is about doing the things she's "put aside for years." It's fine, but not a highlight.

"Sensitized," the brash Cathy Dennis/Guy Chambers production, is another winner. Then there's funky Daft Punk-esque "Wow," which is an obvious choice for a future single. Charging "Stars" and the beat-heavy Calvin Harris-produced "Heart Beat Rock" are good too, but not stand outs like the others.

There are some missteps however. Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish production duo responsible for many of Britney Spears' recent electro-ish singles (they did "Toxic" for example) contribute their skills to two tracks, "Speakerphone" and "Nu-Di-Ty." The former sounds like it was stolen off Britney's Blackout, and the latter just doesn't work very well. Kylie can do better than imitate Ms. Spears. "All I See" is an obvious attempt to make an American R&B/pop styled single, akin to something StarGate would have produced for Ne-Yo or Rihanna (it has that harp and beats combo you hear a lot). The song's fine, but it's just not Kylie.

These are not major problems though. Overall this is a very fun set, a welcome return from one of pop music's most enduring and enjoyable artists. It's no Fever for sure, and probably not as good as Light Years, but I do think it improves on Kylie's last album, Body Language, which got too bogged down in its bland second half, despite containing the awesome "Slow." I definitely expect this will get heavy rotation at my house over the next year (sorry Chris).

Best: 2 Hearts, The One, Wow, In My Arms, No More Rain, Like a Drug, Sensitized