Album Review: Kylie Minogue – Golden
2 min read
Seems like a trend for pop artists to experiment with country music, from Justin Timberlake to Gwen Stefani, now it’s the turn of Kyle Minogue. Golden, fourteenth studio album by the pop Australian singer, is an interesting merger between country and dance pop music enriched by some slower and moodier tracks.
Dancing, in which Kyle declares her desire to never stop dancing and performing, opens the album with an uplifting country guitar line which then explodes in an upbeat “dancing” tune. Another catchy and cheerful song is Stop Me from Falling. Structurally similar to Dancing, this track is fortified by the presence of some back chorus.
Following, there’s Golden, an anthem against ageism. Even though this song gives the name to the entire album, it falls short of expectations: rather than feeling like a hit, it sounds more like a filler. Certainly, a more interesting track is Sincerely Yours, an open love letter to Kyle’s fans. In this case, there’s no trace of country music and it’s where Kyle delivers one of her best performances.
The tone then slows down with Radio On, an acoustic and sentimental track about the curative effects that music can have on us “I put the radio on / Saving myself with the song”. On the same line, there’s Music’s Too Sad Without You, an emotional song featuring Jack Savoretti. Returning to the dancing country feelings, there’s Raining Glitter: a proper disco song and probably the strongest track of the album.
Overall, Golden is an easy listen album in which Kylie Minogue experiments with country and dance music. Though it’s a stimulating combination, it lacks of hits: the structure of the songs is always the same: country guitar lines to introduce the track, for then passing to dance and synth tunes during the chorus.
