KYLIE MINOGUE - Aphrodite Review

Kylie Minogue. You may have heard of her. You probably have a favourite era or phase: perhaps when she was Indie Kylie and hanging with Nick Cave and the Manics; or Dance Kylie, when she minxed up in the mid-90s. Maybe you like the tinny early SAW efforts that launched her from a soap being onto a trajectory of superstardom, and breathed a sigh of relief when she rediscovered her pop mojo in the early 00s. Whatever the time or place, there’s no denying that in the 23 years since I Should Be So Lucky, Kylie has briefly tickled, illuminated or completely absorbed an area of your life.

For her followers Aphrodite is the Kylie of Fever and Light Years: frothy, intensely hummable dance pop. The sort of thing she does with such effortlessness and grace. Lead single All the Lovers emits everything that X – her ‘comeback’ album from 2007 which spectacularly bungled its single releases, and in turn wasn’t really what her fans were expecting – didn’t. With most of the production handed to Stuart Price, who has provided magic in the past for Madonna and helmed the new Scissor Sisters album (among numerous other impressive credits), this is a return to form so astonishing that one’s life can only be enhanced with repeated plays.

There are treats galore to be heard here: next single Get Outta My Way should destroy every dancefloor between here and the furthest reaches of the universe; the Jake Shears/Calvin Harris-penned Too Much is a rave monster; and the tech-country strut of Better Than Today throws up imagery of line-dancing cyborgs. The title-track is a military-drummed happy-clappy back, Back, BACK moment, which will be the moment of her live set when she actually explodes. Contrasting that track, the Tim Rice-Oxley-written number Everything Is Beautiful is about the mellowest thing here, but welcome after the tremendous onslaught of the opening quartet. Concluding with the cowbell-assisted frisky Daft-ness of Can’t Beat the Feeling, this stunning album is an all-killer, flags-aloft amazing triumph....full text Finally even the suits realize that no one wants ersatz hip-hop or Americanized AOR from Australia’s ultimate pop tart. Club crossover boffins Stuart Price and Calvin Harris bring the European boom-boom and post-Gaga hooks on every synth-soaked track, not just the ones cowritten by Scissor Sisters and Keane. Everywhere, the euphoria of her first-ever U.S. tour last year still lingers: Whether ahh-ahh-ing through “Illusion” in a heavenly overdubbed choir or calling out to a “Cupid Boy” while riding a menacing dance-rock bass line, Minogue delivers bliss like no other (wo)man or machine....full text Listening to ‘X’ now – Minogue’s much anticipated post-illness album – it sounds like she was in a transition, caught between the playful pop icon and the tabloids’ “Brave Kylie”. But ‘Aphrodite’’s uniting sound is lightness, suggestion the singer’s found a more peaceful place. Stuart Price is the perfect choice of musical partner; he harnesses both Minogue’s hook-tastic side and her more interesting ‘wonky pop’ side. Subsequently, ‘Aphrodite’ is her most unified work in ages. Highlights are many, but worth a particular mention are the call-to-arms of the title track and ‘Better Than Today’ which revisits her cutesy S/A/W days with a knowing wink....full text