Kylie Minogue — Tension — Album Review
Pop | Dance
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
Kylie Minogue needs no introduction at this point. The Australian pop superstar had blessed the childhood of myself and countless others with many a classic track.
Oddly enough, however, I have never listened to any of Kylie’s music with a critical mindset. In other words, I have never written a review for her material, until now.
Her fifteenth studio album, Disco, came pretty close to getting a review from myself, due to how it switched things up from the country-pop aesthetic of 2018’s Golden (the album that came before). As the name suggests, Disco carried with it the retro pop style that has become increasingly relevant in modern music.
But in the year of 2023, Kylie really came into her own once more. With the release of the hit single, and teaser track for her new album, named “Padam Padam”, this track got so popular that I seemingly couldn’t escape all the way through the summer.
And while I can talk all day of how overexposed to “Padam Padam” I have become, the track’s popularity was rightfully deserved. Simply put, it is an incredibly catchy and energetic track that went even further than anything on Disco to capture that modern (yet retro) pop aesthetic.
In a week where multiple albums carrying tracks I’ve been overexposed to (the other album in question being Doja Cat’s Scarlet, with the most popular track on it being “Paint The Town Red”), Kylie’s brand new album, titled Tension was next on the listening list.
Once again, I am playing another little game of frantic catch up when it comes to music reviews, and I’ve had little time to go over this album front to back. However, it didn’t require much effort from me at all to recognise that the energy that “Padam Padam” brought to the table, translates brilliantly to other tracks across the album.
On top of arguably being the most consistently energetic and accessible pop album that Kylie Minogue has put on in recent memory, Tension gives off a shining aura of a true summer record.
In fact, I would argue that this album does one of the best jobs of being a summer record in the musical year of 2023 that I’ve experienced personally. Though I know that, being on the other side of the world, summer if probably just on the rise for Kylie and her homeland. However, I still can’t help but wish that this album came earlier in the year, so that us lot over in the UK could truly appreciate the warm, vibrant, and above all energetic atmosphere of this record by pairing it with that very brief phase of warm weather we had received.
On top of being a very generous record in terms of substance too (especially when one considers the tracks exclusive to the deluxe version of the record), Tension is a summer of love made into musical form, which sometimes is all one really needs from a good pop record.
In short, as if there was any doubt, Kylie is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.
Favourite Tracks: Tension | One more Time | You Still Get Me High (honestly though, why does this track give so much 1975 energy?) | Green Light | Vegas High
Darenote | BMG
