MDNA by Madonna

By George Neame

©Interscope Records

There’s really very little that has not already been said about Madonna’s background. Since 1983 the American superstar has established herself as possibly the biggest pop princess the world has ever seen, selling out live shows across the globe and becoming Guinness World Records’ ‘top-selling female recording artist of all time’. Having taken a four year break since her last album, MDNA kicks off with an infectious, pulsating beat that is noticeably Madonna-esque. A series of dancefloor hits follow, with catchy basslines and dubstep-style drops. ‘Turn up the Radio’ serves as a prime example of how pop is supposed to be and single ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’’ with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. shows how Madonna compares to more contemporary female artists who, whilst adding to the originality of the album, fail to match the electrifying talent of the queen of pop herself. It is true that the album begins to tail off slightly near the end and the lyrics and song titles are hardly innovative (‘Girl Gone Wild’ sounding very similar to songs such as Rihanna’s ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’), but as a whole MDNA performs well against other female pop artists and is another memorable assortment of appealing tunes to add to Madonna’s 12-strong collection.

Star Rating: ****

WARNING CONTAINS EXPLICIT LYRICS

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/mdna/id511905560