Between the sixteen trillion Facebook posts, massive build up via Youtube and the blogosphere effectively going into some sort of homosexual Chenobryl – it feels pointless to write a review of MDNA. You know how it sounds, you know what to expect and yes, you know it’s a damn good album. However, there are three stand out tracks that deserve particular attention.
Love Spent is essentially all the things that have worked about Madonna since 1983. The song wouldn’t be out of place on Ray of Light, American Life, Confessions, Hard Candy, Erotica, Music – everything! Mixing her consistently inventive lyricism with banjos, Mario Brothers electronica, a banging beat and a few kitchen sinks, this is exactly what we want from Madonna.
If Turn Up The Radio isn’t released as a single, than I should give up blogging because I clearly have no idea about what is going on in the music world. Infectious and brimming with Martin Solveig’s current sound, Turn Up The Radio demands you have fun. It’s the most commercial track on the album but shouldn’t be punished for it – it perfectly rounds out the first four clubby tracks of MDNA.
Preceding Radio is I’m Addicted, a track that one ups Girls Gone Wild’s Benassi helmed dance feel. Pulsating, aggressive and catchy as sin, it plays out like the evolution of Confessions on a Dancefloor. One criticism? Shouting MDNA towards the end of the track comes across as both desperate and pointless.
MDNA is one highlight after another. Coming across as Ray Of Confessions, it reinforces Madonna’s irrepressible ability to make us dance and think at the same time. Nearly 30 years into her career, she hasn’t just given us an easy pill to swallow – she might have just made her best album to date. 4 stars.
