Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 26/11/07
Label: Parlophone

Even the most culturally myopic citizen would be well aware that diminutive pop princess Kylie has just delivered her first new batch of songs in four years. Not one but two television shows, both glittered-up to the gills and predictably gutless in terms of spilling any properly personal beans, have been screened at prime-time in the run-up, while (terrific) lead single "2 Hearts" was clearly chosen for its high-heeled, "remember me, boys?" strut. Parlophone were never going to allow Kylie's tenth studio album to sink.

In fact, "X" is more than capable of keeping itself afloat, and is so buoyant it occasionally drifts into the perfect pop stratosphere. A savvy, shiny, slyly sophisticated set of thoroughly modern dance floor exercises, it's the record we hoped Girls Aloud might make. There are no thrilling creative transgressions and Kylie won't win a Pulitzer for her prose, but as pop productions go, it's a peach.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of "X" is its lack of darkness. After battling (successfully) with breast cancer and enduring a painful (public) relationship break-up, Kylie might well have fancied a bit of fashionable recorded exorcism, à la Britney. Still, having pipped death at the post, the euphoric, I-love-life possibilities afforded by the mirror ball were understandably irresistible.

As with all major-league pop records, the production team credits on "X" are as revealing as any listening session. Here, Richard "Spice Girls" Stannard lines-up alongside Swedish duo Bloodshy and Avant (of "Toxic" fame), Guy Chambers (for years Robbie Williams' chief writer and producer), Kish Mauve and Calvin Harris, among others. Collectively, they've done a cut-and-shut job on electro-pop/R&B cum disco house, cannily distilling the sounds of Goldfrapp (her "Black Cherry" phase), "Music"-era Madonna, Britney, Beyoncé and Kelis into a stream-lined, all-purpose whole, at times edging cheekily close to plain robbery.

Thus: "2 Hearts" borrows both Marilyn Monroe's breathy suggestiveness (the "I'm coming up for air" line is almost certainly not a reference to scuba diving lessons) and André 3000's trademark falsetto; "Like A Drug" suggests Britney fronting "Violator"-era Depeche Mode; the Daft Punk vaults are plundered for both "In My Arms" and the sleek, Vocoder-heavy "Speakerphone"; "Sensitized" is a sexy, Gainsbourg-sampling sashay; "Heart Beat Rock" burns Neptunes' staccato style; "The One" is Olivia Newton-John joining Erasure to mimic Abba, "Wow" is essentially a rewrite of "Holiday"…the litany of larceny goes on.

Yet somehow, "X" has ended up not as a dead-eyed simulacrum, but a full-bodied, high-kicking celebration of all that's good - and good-time - in commercial pop. Cliches about renewed strength following a tough struggle are odious, but when she shines this brightly, the urge to cheer Kylie on is undeniably strong.

    by Sharon O'Connell