Saturday, December 20, 2014

Music Review: New Madonna Singles Sound Promising

After a few studio demos leaked from her upcoming 13th album Rebel Heart, Madonna took it upon herself to release six studio cuts from the album.

Accounting for about a third of the 19 tracks on the set, the release of six songs comes after the Queen of Pop called the leak of the demos as "artistic rape" and "terrorism".

From the sounds of it, Madonna is making a much better album than her last one, MDNA, with more club fun and the ability to keep growing as one of the staples of modern pop.

The songs were made available on YouTube, iTunes, and other online music stores and streaming services.

Rebel Heart goes on sale on March 10.

Living for Love- What was supposed to be the first official single released in February, "Living for Love" is a typical Madonna pop song, full of love, spunk and fun. A nice blend of modern club music and a throwback to 90's pop (i.e. Robin S., Cece Peniston, Corona).

Bitch I'm Madonna- This song reeks of  the old school lifestyle of Madonna we used to know that is thrust into the future with a beat drop and a Nicki Minaj rap . The music is something that would be a hit on Vine, it's really catchy and it proves, to me, that someone who has been in the music world for 30 years can continue to evolve just as music has.

Illuminati- Remember when "Vogue" featured that spoken hook featuring a slate of Hollywood greats? "Illuminati" starts off each chorus with a quick-speaking Madonna spouting off current hot figures, all in the name of the Illuminati. It's dark and mysterious sounding, and continues to expand on the theory that the Illuminati has a strong creative drive in the world of entertainment. Not my favorite of the released singles.

Devil Pray- This is most likely the "Miles Away" or "Don't Tell Me" of the album. Featuring a beautiful guitar accompaniment, "Devil's Pray" is a more subdued pop hit of the released singles and has a weird essence of folkiness combined some club beats and synthesizers. A nice track that features lyrics that serves as the detour of the overriding party hits in the collection

Ghosttown- When you think "Ghosttown" sounds even slower and more ballad-y than "Devil Pray" it gets a nice kick in the ass to move it along quicker. This features more real singing from Madonna than the other singles, and it's as nice to hear this as the electronic/dance stuff. However, you eventually want to get away from lyrical downers and you want to head back to the party.

Unapologetic Bitch- I would asked Madonna for an apology for this reggae-infused track, but she's an "Unapologetic Bitch", so I won't hold my breath. Because it's Madonna, this "hater"-scented track is like a Taylor Swift pop song for those actually like to call others bitches. I'd still rather listen to this than a Swift song. This might be weird, but at least it's not as whiny.

Rating: B

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