Kylie Minogue “Tension” Album Review

Tension

Kylie Minogue

• Genre: Pop
• Date: 22 Sep, 2023
• Content: Not-explicit
• Track(s): 11
• ℗ 2023 Kylie Minogue/Darenote under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited

“Tension” is her sixteenth album, and it’s not only as good as the ones she released 10 or 20 or more years ago, but it’s just like them: full of shiny, irresistible, easily digestible songs whose sole purpose is to make listeners fall in love and dance, if not always in that order. As the platonic ideal of a pop star ageing gracefully in her career, Kylie Minogue knows what kind of artist she is and, for 35 years, has stuck to that identity — and, better than that, embraced it.

“Tension” exudes a return-to-normalcy joy that showcases her well-established strengths as a singer, songwriter and performer of pop music. Unlike her previous album, “Disco,” which was a collection of throwback songs that paid homage to the musical hedonism, both silly and harmonious, of the 1970s (and the entire pre-pandemic era), “Tension” is openly attractive in comparison to its flirtatious predecessor and aims for dancefloor excitement which contributes to a more slippery style of enjoyment, but together they offer a sort of template for the listener.

Album Art

The Album Art sees the portrait image of the superstar as she holds a significant cut of diamond over one eye, looking all glammed up against a surreal backdrop, and wearing a slight smile that is suggestive of who she believes she is – a Diamond unfazed by tensions.

Tracks And Features

A formidable challenge was thrown down by the first song, “Padam Padam,” released in May. Even though it only peaked at No. 34 on the Top 40 chart, it quickly gained traction as a contender for the elusive, unofficial, and much-disputed title of “Song of the Summer,” especially after her LGBTQ admirers adopted it for their global pride celebrations. The song’s lyrics—classic and cutting-edge Kylie—appeared to be a prelude to the romantic relationship revealed in the album: its singer meets a suitable companion on the dance floor, and a fling develops.

The song, co-written by Minogue and producer Peter Rycroft (aka Lostboy) and Norwegian singer-songwriter Ina Wroldsen, perfectly captures the enthusiasm of music fans returning to clubs and festivals. Rycroft’s futuristic, pulsating musical accompaniment blends seamlessly with Minogue’s plastic vocals.

It was surprising that Minogue waited until the end of August to release a second single, “Tension,” whether the decision exemplifies a slightly more traditional release rollout than the seeming current strategy to hammer listeners until another song sticks or reflects a cunning patience to let “Padam Padam” fully embed itself in the pop firmament. However, the song immediately seems to explain, giving robotically exact instructions on how she skillfully elevates the heart-pounding romance of “Padam” into bedroom provocation, even over a keyboard riff (thanks to her longtime collaborators Biff Stannard, Duck Blackwell, and Jon Green) that sounds lifted from a 1990s club classic.

The song “Hold On to Now,” which develops from a burbling synthesizer melody to a sweeping four-count pace that feels intended for an epic end-of-night music festival encore with a gospel choir supporting Minogue, openly states as much in its musical as in its lyrical substance.

Whereas the previous album was primarily influenced by disco, “Tension” is more significantly affected by ’80s pop, especially on songs like “Things We Do for Love,” which in a more stripped-down form is recognizable as Kevin Bacon dancing to it in 1984. The Cars’ “Drive” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” are combined in “You Still Get Me High “‘s half-tempo opening to deliver a sneak attack on the dance floor. During the choruses, Minogue speculates, “Maybe it’s the moonlight”, before announcing, “You still get me high.” The saxophone solo later in “Green Light” could have been part of a lost recording session for Sade’s “Smooth Operator.”

In contrast, “One More Time” sounds like a clearinghouse for the singer’s diverse influences, injecting a flute riff from Van McCoy’s “The Hustle” into an upbeat beat that echoes as she sings a chorus that had better get overlaid with Daft Punk’s song of the same name.

“Hands” and “Green Light” being placed right close by each other sounds like a loving but reassuring answer to the younger musicians who have taken over Minogue’s mantle in recent years. She “raps” on the first track in a way that’s comparable to Ariana Grande, but on the second, she delivers a smooth, string-heavy party groove that, in a perfect world, will soon be mingled with Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” from the “Barbie” soundtrack on dance floors all over the world.

Only “Vegas High,” a geographically focused anthem that cynical minds could surmise was written as a required theme song for her upcoming stay in Sin City, feels slightly calculated from the album’s 11 songs. Even though the metaphor seems a little forced, Kylie sings it with enough sincerity to make it seem genuine, regardless of whether it ever leaves the Venetian.

Although Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” and almost the entirety of “Renaissance,” is one of the most recent mainstream tributes to ballroom culture and the surrounding community, Kylie Minogue’s collaboration with producer Oliver Heldens, “10 Out of 10,” ably stakes a confident claim in this expanding canon. It seems that Heldens might have listed at least one or two more categories for the subject of the song’s adoration to obtain the eponymous top score since there are six credited songwriters (including Minogue herself). However, it becomes evident that the music is more focused on serving “sex siren” than talking about it after she delivers likely the most explicit line on the record.

The only songs that some may consider flops are “Vegas High” and “10 Out of 10”; the former sounds like an unmistakable billboard for her upcoming Vegas residency, while the latter is just too bland and lifeless even slightly to merit its watered-down ballroom chorus. However, the fact remains that they are flaming in their own right.

Tension” finishes with the love song “Story,” which feels slightly more pointed than the other love songs on the album and may be about a specific person. However, this song shouldn’t be mistaken for a more in-depth revelation of feelings. Minogue is a seasoned pop performer who has mastered the art of elevating and transforming her own experiences into universally understood feelings. However, the song showcases her vocal range more than any other on the album, as she hits high notes in the chorus that it’s easy to forget she can sing. She captures all that palpable, loving emotion while giving the listener a challenging workout in just over three minutes.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	TIME
1	Padam Padam	2:46
2	Hold On To Now	3:57
3	Things We Do For Love	3:09
4	Tension	3:36
5	One More Time	3:02
6	You Still Get Me High	3:38
7	Hands	2:45
8	Green Light	3:19
9	Vegas High	3:33
10	10 Out Of 10 (feat. Kylie Minogue)	2:51
11	Story	3:16

Album Summary

The most easygoing album from Kylie Minogue in a long time is a collection of all the genres she is best known for, including sweet synth-pop, carefree Euro house, and pulsating EDM. She has enhanced pop music by demonstrating to her followers and the rest of the world how fantastic it can be when done with passion, sincerity, and consistency rather than by attempting to make it into something it isn’t.

This is far from underestimating her abilities or the genre in which she has established herself as an enduring mainstay. Therefore, the only issue with “Tension’s” title may be that it follows a record of such unrestrained joy and fun. However, she may be challenging the rest of the industry to continue her impeccable run. Of course, she has done that for three and a half decades.

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