Madonna - Rebel Heart

From the disco reviving behemoth Confessions On A Dancefloor to the hyperactivity of MDNA, Madonna hasn't managed to match her own musical quality over the past ten years. Confessions was an incredible album, from start to finish, yet the two albums that followed didn't sate even the die hard fans. With questions over her relevance in the contemporary pop market, even though she sells out world tours faster than Rihanna releases albums, it felt like now would be a good time for Madonna to release an album that was both relevant but also very much 'classic Madonna'. 

Her 13th studio album, Rebel Heart, is a huge improvement on her past two collections. Lead single 'Living For Love' is a camp dance thumper with an exhilarating chorus and powerful vocal performance and it serves as an exciting introduction. Don't be fooled though, this doesn't set the tone for the album, in fact the production is far darker than this single delves. There are even forays into past musical explorations which didn't work well then but seem to be executed perfectly this time round. The hip hop infused bleeps of the ridiculous 'Illuminati' and the rumbling 'Iconic' are actually welcome additions to Rebel Heart, giving the album an injection of adrenaline when it could have been too 'ballad' heavy.

Ciara - I Bet

Ciara's self titled last album was, to put it simply, brilliant. An album without one dud is hard to find in the pop scene and Ciara's movement away from the hyperactive psychobabble of her earlier songs to a smoother, sultry R&B sound proved to be a winner. Since that album graced our lives she's been on a hiatus, had a baby and apparently almost finished recording her new album Jackie. 

The first single to be lifted from her new collection is 'I Bet',which was released back in January. The annals of Ciara's career show that marketing isn't her team's forte which explains why I knew nothing about this track until a week ago. 'I Bet' is produced and written by Ciara and R&B knob twiddler Harmony "H-Money" Samuels who has worked with the likes of Mary J Blige and XFactor USA false starters Fifth Harmony. It's a strong comeback, maintaining the soft R&B jam vibes of Ciara and its one of the most revealing musical ventures she's recorded to date. Singing about a failed relationship, I imagine her breakup from her baby daddy Future, Ciara's vocals are controlled expertly and a growth in range is obvious. It's a great comeback. Whether it will give her the hit single she needs isn't certain, but it seems like she might have to be content with being a successful 'underground' R&B artist going forward, releasing amazing music that not very many people will be exposed to. As long as she continues to release music of this calibre though, who gives a shit?

4 / 5

Mumford & Sons - Believe

Mumford & Sons never 'split up', let's just get that straight now. I'm going to call it a creative hiatus, because that's what an incredible band does, they take time out of the spotlight to write and record beautiful music. They're one of the most likeable folk bands of the past decade, their music skillfully balancing classic folk arrangements with a contemporary edge. Following on from their last, behemoth success of an album Babel, they're back with a new single called 'Believe', from their upcoming opus, Wilder Mind. 

It's a step forward sonically, ditching the acoustic folk sounds we're used to hearing in favour of an electronic arrangement and Marcus Mumford sounds as authentically impassioned as ever as he sings "I don't even know if I believe / everything you're trying to say to me" on the chorus. The beauty of 'Believe' is how slowly it builds up. The song doesn't explode until the 2 minute mark and by this point you're so captivated by Mumford's vocal performance layered atop the modest production that the change in pace is an exhilarating experience. I hope that the folk elements of Mumford & Sons aren't lost in the past, but for now, this is a refreshing revival of a band that continue to impress with every step they take.

5 / 5

Ariana Grande - One Last Time

Ariana Grande's sophmore album My Everything isn't packed with potential hit singles, but it does have the occasional triumph nestled amongst the mediocre. 'Problem', 'Break Free' and 'Love Me Harder' were all collaborative efforts that left you wondering if she could hack going it alone. So now, to make me eat my words, she's gone and released an amazing (completely solo) single called 'One Last Time' and I am currently trying to figure out how to eat my computer.

'One Last Time' fades into earshot with an array of echoey synths and soft beats layered beneath Ariana's impressive and emotive vocals. It's actually one of the best songs she's recorded to date, particularly because you can actually understand most of the lyrics she's singing. It's got hit written all over it and a nifty, apocalyptic, handheld music video to boot. So that's it for this album campaign. She's released her four best songs so where can she go but onwards to a completely new and better album?

4 / 5

Madonna - Living For Love

Madonna always gets a tough time on this blog. It's not because I dislike her, rather it's because I expect a lot from her. Love her or hate her, she's the most influential female pop icon the world has ever known and it likely to remain that very figure for a long time to come. Beyoncé might have stolen the limelight in recent years but as far as an innovative, boundary pushing artist goes, she can't touch Madonna. Her new album Rebel Heart has potential to outshine her last effort, MDNA which bar a few great dance tracks, failed to find its place in the greatest Madonna moments.

New single 'Living For Love' isn't an instant classic, but after a few listens its charm starts to shine through. It echoes 90s dance with heavy sonic booms and shudders and Madonna's vocal performance is confident and, at times, powerful. It's a better slice of contemporary Madonna and is certainly destined to flood the floors of gay clubs with dancing feet the world over. 

4 / 5

Florence + The Machine - What Kind Of Man

It's been over 3 years since we had a new Florence + The Machine album and really it's about time this was rectified. Thankfully it is soon to be fixed. Third studio album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful will be out sometime in 2015 and until then we have the gorgeous lead single 'What Kind Of Man' to devour.

The song opens with a haunting (almost) spoken word verse that finds Florence's vocal layered with a demonic sounding version of herself that wouldn't sound out of place on Ceremonials. It has Florence singing about an indecisive lover, sorry, ex lover. Things amp up at 0:56 with a thumping drum beat and heavy guitar riffs and anthemic chorus. 'What Kind Of Man' is a strong lead single from the upcoming album and sets the bar high for subsequent releases. Here's a link so you can listen to it on Spotify. 

4.5 / 5

Christina Milian - Rebel

When an artist breaks away from their record label due to "creative differences" you know that is music speak for "I didn't make enough money and got fired". Christina Milian had those very "creative differences" back in 2006 following the release of her 3rd album So Amazin' (budgets were cut so they couldn't afford the "g") and since that very day she has had two single releases that didn't chart on the Hot 100 and certainly didn't make waves over here in the UK. Her new single, her first with Young Money Entertainment, is called 'Rebel' and I got quite excited when I found out it was out in the open. 

It's akin to Ciara's 'Body Party', only it's nowhere near as sultry and certainly not so amazin'. It has its own charm, a retro R&B jam but it's not the best choice for a lead single from an album 9 years in the making. The final minute is the strongest part of the song as the production strips down slightly and the vocals sound less tampered. Background sex music it is, chart topper it isn't. Where 'Body Party' was smooth, with a beautifully understated arrangement, this feels clunky and a little inauthentic. 

2.5 / 5

Rihanna - Towards The Sun

So Rihanna dropped a new song on the world wide web last week. Said musical item is titled 'Towards The Sun' and it's from the soundtrack for the new Dreamworks movie, Home. 'FourFiveSeconds' was/is a serious grower; serious in that it takes some bloody hard work to really warm to it but eventually you do, kinda. Alas, this new song is much more 'instant' and is very likely to be a chart success. It's even more instantly likeable because Kanye West's name isn't attached. It's not the best song she's recorded and it's not the worst. It sits somewhere in the middle, with a memorable chorus and thumping arrangement, but the vocals sound a little overproduced and the finale isn't the climax you'd expect from a neo-power ballad. 

3 / 5