Pop Culture Buzz

GRADE: B

The first track off of Kylie’s new c.d. “X” called “Two Hearts” is a fresh pop song with a driving piano melody that is reminiscent of the The Scissor Sisters fashion forward sound. “In My Arms” is futuristic Kylie doing her best. The electro bass line is saccharine sweet and the hook is classic sounding Kylie.

“The One” is one of this disc’s best tracks. This thumping 80’s sounding song is full of Kylie’s cheeky lyrics and breathy vocals. “The One” sounds like an ode to The Pet Shop Boys much like Robbie Williams did on his last c.d.

“All I See” is a stripped down R&B sounding Kylie with the typical Kylie hooks but with a soft spoken rap style. Kylie has never been a great ballad singer, this is still true on songs like “Cosmic”. Her talents are always used best when supporting fast, fun, gay sounding dance singles like her classics “Come Into My World”, “Slow”, “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head”, “I Believe In Love” and “Love At First Sight”.

“Like A Drug” is classic experimental Kylie. Like “Slow” this song has a hard industrial pop sound that is ahead of its time. “Speakerphone” uses the best aspects of Kylie’s wispy girlie singing voice. This song is the biggest Madonna knock-off of the bunch, and that is a good thing. “Stars” follows the 80’s theme with a great synthesized beat and guitar hook. “Wow” is a neat little track with lots of bells and whistles, it is the most original track on this c.d.

The “Heart Beat Rock” is Kylie doing Fergie or Gwen with mild results. The two step production and rapping show Kylie’s weakness for current trends. “No More Rain” is a fluffy feel good Kylie track that doesn’t highlight the best of what Kylie has to offer, but it is harmless enough to pass as a mild ballad.

The truth of the matter is that Kylie shines best when she is backing a dance track. These two songs give the c.d. an awkward feel to it and in the end the album feels like it has no over all continuity. Her best album to date is still “Fever” followed by the terrific pop album “Body Language”.

The track “Nu Di Ty” is a silly exercise in Britney theatrics and is the weakest song on this light as air c.d. “Sensitized” is a dark cut with a Nelly Furtado-esque feel to it. By the sound of this album it is obvious that Kylie has been studying up on her pop stars and she has learned some new tricks, the influences are all over the place on Kylie’s tenth album.

Kylie has never been “innovative” or “edgy” but she has always had her finger on the pulse of what is cool in pop music. This “come back” album (from surviving breast cancer) isn’t as well constructed as her last pitch perfect c.d. “Body Language”, but it does deliver the silly fun energy you’ve come to expect from a Kylie record. Welcome back girl!

WATCH KYLIE MINOGUE’S “TWO HEARTS” MUSIC VIDEO HERE: