Kylie Minogue’s ‘Kiss Me Once’: Review Revue

Robbie Daw | March 18, 2014 8:32 am

Today sees the release of pop queen Kylie Minogue’s 12th album, Kiss Me Once. It’s been a long wait since her previous effort, 2010’s Aphrodite, and as we noted in our own review of the Aussie singer’s new LP, it feels like the album was made by an artist who was intent on exploring new sounds and, along the way, stumbled upon some great producers and songwriters to add to the contact list for future collaborations. And somehow, for all her life and career changes the singer has gone through, it still plays like a very “Kylie” record.

But what did the rest of the Internet have to say about Kiss Me Once? Head below for our roundup of reviews from far and wide, then let us know your own thoughts on Minogue’s latest.

:: NME observes, “Producers Of The Moment, Ariel Rechtshaid and Pharrell Williams, on a Kylie album? Why not? After all, the brilliance of Team Minogue has always been to hop on passing musical trends while remaining true to the essence of Kylie… Kiss Me Once proves that after 26 years in the business, Kylie can still pull off a very modern pop album.”

:: ABC News (by way of The AP) notes, “The latest offering from pop goddess Kylie Minogue is like a narcotic disco dream, slightly confused about the time-space continuum, yet very delightful. With her 12th studio album — her first after signing with Jay Z’s Roc Nation management — Minogue attempts to keep her crown in the dance kingdom — and succeeds — when she’s not trying too hard to upgrade to today’s trends.”

:: The Boston Globe has this to say: “As is her habit, she starts out with her best foot forward, in this case the arms-up ecstasy of “Into the Blue.” Rihanna-Daft Punk hybrid ‘Les Sex’ isn’t far behind; purely on its musical merits, it sounds like it’ll be a hell of a showstopper on her next tour… And with its dubstep twist, cartoon voices, and intermittently rap-tinged delivery (to say nothing of the title), ‘Sexercize’ could be the worst song the singer’s put out in well over a decade. It’s the album’s only genuine misstep, but it’s still perplexing, hearing a Minogue that can do wrong.”

:: PopMatters views Kiss Me Once this way: “While many artists in the business have needed to reinvent their image and personas each time they return to the spotlight in order to survive, Minogue has consistently released one album after another of habit-forming pop confections, without changing her image too drastically. She doesn’t need to. It’s hard to imagine her singing about bouncing buttocks ten years from now, but only time will tell. Kiss Me Once isn’t a game-changing album, but it should churn out enough hits to secure her place on the pop culture radar until her next offering.”

:: The Guardian gives a thumbs up to the Kylie-Pharrell pairing: “After 25 years with the manager who took her on after Neighbours, Kylie is now looked after by Roc Nation (ultimate boss: Jay Z; day-to-day manager: same guy as Rihanna; Roc artists show their love for “the Roc” by making a diamond with their hands; Kylie has yet to be captured doing it as Grimes has). Handily, this Roc hook-up has led to one utterly great song being on KMOthat would not have been there otherwise. ‘I Was Gonna Cancel’ brings the best out of Pharrell Williams’s aerated funk-pop and slots in Kylie’s effortless disco vocal. It’s a perfect fit. And if the chorus just consists of one word (“go!”), then the peculiar operatic angels cooing in the distance make this a winningly idiosyncratic move.”

:: SPIN is ultimately pleased with the album: “…there are the irretrievably cheesy moments, the most camp of which being the forced, uncomfortable Enrique Iglesias duet, ‘Beautiful.’ But all is redeemed by ‘Fine,’ a light and airy track that glimmers from start to finish: The lilting way her voice escalates on the word fi-i-ine in the chorus lingers in a way the evokes the very best pop songs. Therein lies the strength of Kiss Me Once: Minogue’s ability to turn any contrived situation into something positive, magical, and utterly her own.”

:: Digital Spy feels the record works as a whole: “The list of producers and songwriters involved is dazzling if exhaustive — including Ariel Rechtshaid (Haim), Sia (Rihanna, Britney Spears), MNEK (The Saturdays) and Pharrell (everyone) — but Kiss Me Once hangs together surprisingly well in spite of this and rarely suffers from the ‘too many cooks’ syndrome that has plagued her recent efforts.”

:: The National sums things up with this: “Luckily there are moments of excellence here, reminders of Minogue’s singular magic. The pounding chant of ‘Les Sex’, the joyful bounce of the title track ‘Kiss Me Once’, which could almost be an update of one of her Stock Aitken Waterman tracks, and the funky Daft Punkish guitar of ‘Sexy Love’ are all standouts. And, perhaps inevitably, it is Pharrell who brings out what feels like a true version of Minogue: ‘I Was Gonna Cancel’ is confident, quirky, full of the brilliant synth-pop sounds that make her shine and with neat, catchy beats that only he can bring. Could album 13 see a full collaboration between the pair? We should be so lucky.”

You’ve seen what the critics have to say about Kylie’s latest album. Now let us know your own thoughts on Kiss Me Once below!

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