Madonna: MDNA

Posted July 28, 2013 by J Matthew Cobb in Electronica

Rating

Overall

3/ 5

Details

Genre: Electronica, Pop, Synthpop

Producer: Benny Benassi, Hardy "Indiigo" Muanza, Jimmy Harry, Klas Åhlund, Madonna, Martin Solveig, Michael Malih, The Demolition Crew, William Orbit

Label: Interscope, Live Nation

Genre: Synthpop, pop, electronica

Producer: Madonna, Klas Åhlund, Alle Benassi, Benny Benassi, The Demolition Crew, Free School, Jimmy Harry, Michael Malih, Hardy "Indiigo" Muanza, William Orbit, Martin Solveig

Label: Live Nation, Interscope

Format: Digital download, compact disc

Time: 50:47

Release Date: 23 March 2012

Spin This: "Girl Gone Wild," "I'm Addicted"

Pros:

"Girl Gone Wild" is a major standout, even if it sounds way too familiar

Cons:

In places, MDNA suffers with subpar pop; overshadowed by strobelight action and DJ's ego-driven agenda

Madonna pulls out her reply to Britney’s Femme Fatale

by J Matthew Cobb

Full Article

Madonna pulls out her reply to Britney’s Femme Fatale

Madonna falls deeper into the next dimension of the orb-twirling dance revolution. Think of this as Britney’s Femme Fatale, but with a broader focus on its bleepy, Pro Tools-warped singles. Only the album’s last two tracks fall into lullaby territory. She still takes a few risks, particularly when she dips into the rave drug culture. “Now that your name pumps like the blood in my veins/Pulse through my body, igniting my mind/It’s like MDNA and that’s okay,” she sings on “I’m Addicted.” It’s obviously a play of terms with her name’s abbreviation and that of ecstasy. Inside the booming walls, the electropop isn’t all that adventuresome. MDNA might be a new soundtrack for the Queen of Pop, with Benny Benassi and Klas Åhlund at helm, but it is void of anything that magnifies her vocals beyond subpar pop. The simplicity of “Superstar” hardly matches the glowing universality of “Lucky Star,” even if its cheerleader-like chorus feels like some allegiance to Eighties’ innocence. She sprinkles a little “Beautiful Stranger” stardust on “I’m a Sinner,” where she pledges allegiance to rebellion before and after a strange “Hail Mary” chant. She does spit the lyrics on the verses on “I Don’t Give A” using a little MJ aggression, but is totally sidelined by the better trained Nicki Minaj. Forget all the hype surrounding the Toni Basil-seasoned “Give Me All Your Luvin’;” it’s the album opener “Girl Gone Wild” that captivates the ear, thanks to its Daft Punk four-on-the-floor beat and a homoeroticism that conjures the best of the Scissor Sisters. Madonna’s vocals are safe, a bit on the side of Britney Spears, and the template is ripped straight from Usher’s “DJ Got Us Falling in Love,” but its bubbly chorus is just as infectious as her most proudest dance tracks. You just have to excuse her oblivious Cyndi Lauper reference.