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While Madonna has been trying to recapture her queen of the clubs title aggressively over the last decade and wanna-bes Robyn, Natasha Bedingfield and Annie have been threatening a takeover, any dance-pop lover with their ears on straight has known to keep an eye on Kylie Minogue. Since 2002’s Fever —in which the former soap star nailed a bubblegum version of Basement Jaxx/Daft Punk–style continental house and turned in a career-reviving smash hit—the Aussie has been a legit factor in clubs, too.
Though she’s been in treatment for breast cancer since 2005, Minogue doesn’t do melancholy or woe. Nor do her fans; 2004’s Body Language had a darker edge that left many of them cold. But on X, she reunites her pop panache with cutting-edge rhythms—and dips the whole thing in a steamy solution of molten liquid sex.
Working with a gallery of disparate producers, Minogue flirts with every style on the block on X —even shades of R&B on “All I See.” There’s some Bowie-esque swagger leftover from a Goldfrapp session with London’s Kish Mauve in “2 Hearts,” while “Speakerphone” is an electro-lite sing-along. Electro meets pop drama on “In My Arms”—copenned by electro-indie upstart Calvin Harris.
Some of the adventures in style never quite gel—on “Nu-Di-Ty,” with Swedish Britney collaborators Bloodshy & Avant, Minogue encourages us to strip down—but the jerky beat hardly encourages it. “Sensitized” samples Serge Gainsbourg and feels more late ’90s Chemical Brothers. But on the glam-disco of “Like a Drug” and over the clipped drums of “Heart Beat Rock” Minogue proves once again that she can sell the dream—and we’re buying it.
