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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.
There are some issues, of course there are. Nicki Minaj has her place, but that is not on a Madonna album and her placement on 'Bitch I'm Madonna' is as unwelcome as the song. It's the hyperactive psychobabble I prayed wouldn't make its way over from MDNA, alas you can't have everything you want. Similarly annoying is the brash 'Unapologetic Bitch', a song with the potential to be very likeable until the awful breakdown comes into earshot and you find yourself desperately slamming your smartphone screen to make the pain stop.
Thankfully those are the only missteps on Rebel Heart. 'Devil Pray' is a standout example of how Madonna should sound and is the album's strongest track. The Avicii production opens with a light guitar riff and clapping arrangement, before dark echoing synths and eastern flavour beats burst into earshot at the start of the gorgeous chorus. It's the most authentic Madonna has sounded in years and would definitely find its way onto a countdown of the greatest Madonna tracks of all time. The subtlety of the album is admirable, Madonna taking a more reserved approach to the recording of each track. 'Ghosttown' is one of her most vocally impressive performance to date; gone are the vocal tweaks and in are the exposed pipes, laid atop a heady chorus brimming with an emotive explosion of synths. This song is the first of many tracks to act as an emotional exposé. Then you have a track like 'Joan of Arc', a stunning acoustic guitar led ballad with echoes of Alanis Morissette circa Flavours of Entanglement. Madonna sings about the heartbreak she feels when the media trashes her name and how much she needs the comfort of her lover to get through it. It sounds cheesy on paper, but it really is beautiful. The heartbreak vibes continue with the aptly named 'HeartBreakCity', a snare drum backed mid tempo ballad with a dark synth arrangement and haunting harmonies, and the island flavoured 'Hold Tight'.
Thankfully those are the only missteps on Rebel Heart. 'Devil Pray' is a standout example of how Madonna should sound and is the album's strongest track. The Avicii production opens with a light guitar riff and clapping arrangement, before dark echoing synths and eastern flavour beats burst into earshot at the start of the gorgeous chorus. It's the most authentic Madonna has sounded in years and would definitely find its way onto a countdown of the greatest Madonna tracks of all time. The subtlety of the album is admirable, Madonna taking a more reserved approach to the recording of each track. 'Ghosttown' is one of her most vocally impressive performance to date; gone are the vocal tweaks and in are the exposed pipes, laid atop a heady chorus brimming with an emotive explosion of synths. This song is the first of many tracks to act as an emotional exposé. Then you have a track like 'Joan of Arc', a stunning acoustic guitar led ballad with echoes of Alanis Morissette circa Flavours of Entanglement. Madonna sings about the heartbreak she feels when the media trashes her name and how much she needs the comfort of her lover to get through it. It sounds cheesy on paper, but it really is beautiful. The heartbreak vibes continue with the aptly named 'HeartBreakCity', a snare drum backed mid tempo ballad with a dark synth arrangement and haunting harmonies, and the island flavoured 'Hold Tight'.
Rebel Heart is almost exactly the move Madonna needed to make. It's an album brimming with feeling and most importantly it's believable and relatable. It's ballad / heartbreak heavy, but this is refreshing from an artist who's relied on sass for her past two collections. There's not one duff track in this vein and the good tracks are so good that the bad ones can be ignored as if they didn't happen. It's not ballad heavy a la Emeli Sandé though. The heartbreak is layered amongst gorgeous arrangements of dark, brooding synths and intricate production. It's not all sad and Rebel Heart isn't without its quirks. 'Body Shop' is an immensely satisfying folksy number that stands out from the surrounding tracks and is unlike anything I've heard from Madonna before. This is evidence that she's trying something new that works for her and hopefully going forward we won't have to resort to the 'desperate' label again.
4 / 5
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