The Globe And Mail - Aphrodite Review
Now Playing: Put Your Hands Up
Topic: Aphrodite

One of the oldest battles in the culture wars is about seriousness. Pop music is considered inherently frivolous because it was designed for mass consumption, to be used up and tossed away. To which pop partisans have replied that the means of production had nothing to do with seriousness of intent, and that much popular music was indeed deep, profound and culturally resonant, with examples cited from Ray Charles to the Beatles to Madonna. And so on. You could get a degree arguing this stuff (and a number of people have).

That said, there’s nothing wrong with being frivolous. If there were, why would God have given us Kylie Minogue?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/kylie-hasnt-got-much-to-say-but-who-cares/article1629093/

The Star - Aphrodite CD Pick Of The Week

Eleven albums in, you’re either aboard the Kylie train or you’re not.

Despite the usual industry noise about this potentially being the Australian pop pixie’s long-anticipated North American breakthrough, Aphrodite doesn’t really bother to offer us anything more than that which already delights the converted. Executive producer Stuart Price — who gave Madonna her last shot at disco glory on Confessions on a Dancefloor and just helmed the new Scissor Sisters album — obviously knows his subject, her vocal limitations and her doting audience well and lets her play to her main strength here: huge, glistening cyber-disco anthems that bring out the little gay man in all of us.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/recordings/article/832309--cd-pick-of-the-week-kylie-minogue

NZ Herald's Aphrodite Review
Now Playing: Everything Is Beautiful
Topic: Aphrodite

Rating: 3/5
Verdict: Goddess of love? Yes. Queen of pop? Not quite

Could it be time Kylie moved on from music? Didn't she launch a successful underwear brand a few years ago? And judging by some of the songs on the Aussie star's 11th album, it might pay for her to broaden her horizons. Not that Aphrodite is bad. It's just that sometimes it's nothing more than mindless and mechanical, albeit fun, pop music. There's nothing as impressive here as her pop music classics, like Spinning Around, and best of all, Can't Get You Out of My Head. On Get Outta My Way the beats sound like they've come out of a SodaStream machine, and if it wasn't for the video to first single, All The Lovers, where lots of people are making out in their undies, the song's mid-tempo mediocrity would be a tad torturous.

More Here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10657368

GayNZ.com Album Review: Aphrodite - Kylie Minogue
Topic: Aphrodite

It's no secret that the gays hold a special place in their hearts for the pint-sized pop princess, one Kylie Minogue. Her shamelessly effervescent pop disco beats are practically tailor made for us. Kylie herself is well aware of this and has no problem with angling her music toward us either. Whether she's putting out the campest dance tune of the last decade in the form of Your Disco Needs You, or filling her video for Slow with a kaleidoscope of speedo clad men.

Many feel that her last album, and her first post-breast cancer crisis, X was a bit of a letdown. Kylie herself has admitted it wasn't what the fans wanted, and she is right, but in saying that, it wasn't a bad album at all (Body Language was far far worse in my opinion). Those that were less than satisfied in her last couple of offerings though will be pleased to know that her eleventh studio album Aphrodite is a true to form, quintessential Kylie album. Everything here is tailored to Kylie's strengths and is a nostalgic reminder of why we fell in love with her in the first place without sounding stale or a simple rehash of her earlier works.

First single, All The Lovers kicks off the affair, and indeed the opening line, "Dance, it's all I wanna do so won't you dance" is a suitable introduction for the album as a whole. This album is made for the dancefloors, never dropping below a mid-tempo. All The Lovers has garnered almost universal praise and quite rightly so, it's aural euphoria. Elsewhere on the album Kylie treats us to a multitude of fantastic songs with nary a Lady Gaga-esque moment to be heard (a rarity from pop singers over the last eighteen months).

The theme of the album, if you hadn't guessed from the title, is love. Kylie wants nothing more on this album than to get everyone up, moving and feeling good, and she more than succeeds. The chorus to Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love) would sound cliche and hackneyed in less capable hands, but Kylie pulls it off with an innocent charm. Get Outta My Way bubbles along with the same fizzy intensity that Love At First Sight did back on Fever. Better Than Today wouldn't sound out of place on a Scissor Sisters album, and in fact Jake Shears did lend his hand to Cupid Boy along with Calvin Harris which is a perfect meeting of minds.

Kylie has been entertaining us with pop perfection for over twenty years now and despite the odd mis-step, she has overall delivered us some of the finest pop hits on record. Aphrodite is a perfect summation of everything we adore about Kylie. It's the perfect example of someone who knows how to deliver something modern and fitting with the sounds of 2010 while still giving nod to some of her earlier work and being entirely original as well. The line "i'm a golden girl I'm an aphrodite" rings true, right at this moment, Kylie truly is our goddess of love.

Source: http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/24/article_9025.php

Allmusic Review of Aphrodite
Now Playing: Closer
Topic: Aphrodite
By time of Kylie Minogue’s eleventh album, 2010's Aphrodite, she had been releasing records for over 20 years. Most artists who’ve stuck around for that long end up rehashing their past catalogs and/or growing stale, but Kylie manages to avoid these fates by constantly working with new collaborators, keeping up on musical trends without pandering to them, and most importantly, never taking herself too seriously. Sure, she’s serious about making great dance music, but she never confuses her status as a pop icon with a desire to send out a message in her music. Aphrodite rarely strays past sweet love songs or happy dance anthems; its deepest message is “everything is beautiful.” You have to credit the songwriters (big names like Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters and Calvin Harris, as well as behind-the-scenes people like Sebastian Ingrosso, and Pascal Gabriel) for tailoring the efforts to Kylie’s strengths. Also on board is exec producer Simon Price, who puts it all together, giving the record a focused sound that was lacking on her previous record, X, which touched convincingly on a myriad of styles and influences, but which ended up sounding a little scattered. Here the main sound is the kind of glittery disco pop that really is her strong suit. The various producers keep their eyes on the dancefloor throughout, crafting shiny and sleek tracks that sound custom-built to blast out of huge speaker columns. Fortunately for non-club goers, they never pave over the interesting details that make records good for home or headphone listening.

The squiggly synths of the massively catchy “All the Lovers,” the sighing background vocals and spiraling harpsichord-esque synths on the ominous "Closer," and the heavenly extended breakdown on “Looking for an Angel” are the kind of hooks that reward repeated listens. While Kylie is fortunate that so many excellent writers and producers are willing to work with her, they are lucky to be working with Kylie too; she can put over a shimmering and funky track like “Can’t Beat the Feeling” with ease, stomp through a dancefloor-filling jam like “Put Your Hands Up” with power, or cruise through a breezy summertime jam like “Better Than Today” with all kinds of laid-back charm. Sure, she’ll never be mistaken for an octave-stretching diva or a vocal powerhouse, but her slightly nasal, girl-next-door vocals serve her needs perfectly. She soars through the songs with just the right blend of emotion and restraint, adding some sass when needed (as on the thumping title track or “Get Outta My Way”) or some quiet melancholy when the mood arises (“Illusion”). This ability to tailor her performance to the song is a rare quality in the pop world of the early 2010s. It may lead people to underestimate Kylie's artistry but really, Aphrodite is the work of someone who knows exactly what her skills are and who to hire to help showcase them to perfection. She and her team have crafted an album that’s both full of songs that could/should hit the upper reaches of the charts, and also a collection of songs that hang together as an album. One of her best, in fact.

X rating *** and half
Bl **** 1/2
Fever **** 1/2
LY ****

Popmatters Aphrodite Review
Now Playing: Illusion
Topic: Aphrodite
Kylie Minogue: Aphrodite
By Christel Loar 8 July 2010
"What's the point of living if you don't wanna dance?"

“It’s the truth, it’s a fact / I was gone and now I’m back,” sings Kylie Minogue on the title track of her latest release, Aphrodite. The hook asks, “Can you feel me on your stereo?” Yes. Yes we can, Kylie, and damn, it feels good.


Aphrodite is filled with the frilly, fabulous dance-floor refrains for which Kylie is famous. More like Light Years or Fever than anything else she’s done this decade, the album is heavy on the club beats and hummable hooks. Produced by Stuart Price (Madonna’s Confessions on a Dancefloor, Scissor Sisters’ Night Work), these tracks are all about making you move, and they don’t bother with much of anything else. They don’t need to.

Read More: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/127860-kylie-minogue-aphrodite/

Dirrtyinc.com Aphrodite Review
Topic: Aphrodite

From the official press release on 20 April 2010 along with a short snippet (instrumental) of the lead single “All the Lovers“, everyone assumes this album would be one of (if not) the best in Kylie’s career! Face it, who doesn’t love Kylie?? She’s extremely likeable and her musical chronology is pretty much well known by every music listeners. So does this album justifies the hype??

Read the full review including track by track analysis here:

http://www.dirrtyinc.com/2010/07/09/album-review-kylie-minogue-aphrodite?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dirrtyinc+%28dirrtyinc.com%29#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed

Brisbane Times Review of Aphrodite
Topic: Aphrodite

Well before the, shall we say, ”enhanced” appearance and current status as the grand dame of pop music, there was something of the Blanche DuBois about Kylie Minogue. Never a songwriter, nor a singer with a definitive voice, she has always depended upon the kindness of strangers to create for her and, indeed, to create her.
...
There’s no more sense of the real Kylie Minogue, whoever she is, but at least Kylie Inc got it right this time.

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/music/aphrodite-20100709-103ga.html

laut.de reviews Aphrodite
Now Playing: Get Outta My Way
Topic: Aphrodite

LAUT.DE-KRITIK
Von der Pop-Prinzessin zur Lust-Göttin.
Review von Adrian Meyer
Drei Jahre sind seit ihrem letzten Glitter-Album "X" ins Großraumdissen-Land gegangen. Genügend Zeit also, die Welt in erneutes "Kylie ist zurück"-Geschrei verfallen zu lassen. Die Pop-Prinzessin erfreut die Discokugel-Anbeter mit "Aphrodite" und gibt ihr gefühltes zillionstes Comeback.
Diese Zahl kommt einem auch in den Sinn, wenn man sich die endlose Liste der von Kylie für ihre elfte Scheibe angeheuerten Songschreiber und Produzenten reinzieht: Sage und schreibe 27 Autoren werkelten an den insgesamt zwölf Songs, neun Produzenten teilten sich das Mischpult (unter anderem Calvin Harris und Starsmith). Das Ruder übernahm dabei Stuart Price, der bereits Madonna, Seal und The Killers in seinem beachtlichen Produzenten-CV auflistet.
Vorabsingle "All The Lovers" macht schnell klar: Kylie appeliert an die Lust. Im Musikvideo präsentiert sie sich zu schmalzigem Electro-Pop als über einem fleischigen Berg aus lauter halbnackten schönen und knutschenden Menschen thronende Aphrodite. Anders als Lady Gaga packt sie dabei nicht die S/M-Peitsche aus, sondern zelebriert kuscheligen Blümchen-Sex (und hat dabei noch die meisten Kleider an).
Entgegen den alle Jahre wieder auftauchenden Kylie-Hits ("Can't Get You Out Of My Head", irgendwer?) fehlt dem Song das gewisse mitreißende Etwas. Zu oberflächlich säuseln die Gummibären-Synths im Wind, Kylies hauchende Zurückhaltung hilft da nicht weiter. Zweifelsohne jedoch werden die Aerobic-Studios dieser Welt ihre schwitzende Kundschaft mit diesem Lied dauerbeschallen.
Midtempo und stetes 4/4 ist eindeutig Programm, auf der Platte findet sich keine einzige Ballade. "You're getting boring / you're all so boring / and I don't recognize the zombie you turned into", trällert Kylie in "Get Outta My Way" selbstbewusst. Den gleichen Slogan möchte man ihr jeweils nach der Hälfte der meisten Songs auf einem großen Poster entgegenhalten.
Zwar verfügen einige Kompositionen durchaus über Potenzial ("Get Outta My Way", "Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)"), dümpeln nach einem überzeugenden Refrain jedoch meist leblos vor sich hin wie die Fischerboote im verseuchten Golf von Mexiko. Zu beliebig wirken die Synth-Lines, zu repetitiv die Melodien, zu unüberzeugend Kylies Gesangsleistung.
Steckt da noch irgendein Rest Herzblut drin? Ist das überhaupt möglich, wenn soviele Leute die Arbeit für einen übernehmen? Kylie hat einzig an drei Songs ("Illusion", "Too Much" und "Looking For An Angel") mitgeschrieben. Die Feststellung, dass sie somit eigentlich nicht viel mehr als mit dem Arsch zu wackeln und rumzuträllern hat, ist durchaus berechtigt. In dieser Hinsicht unterscheidet sich die "Pop-Prinzessin" kaum von jedem x-beliebigen Castingopfer.
Einzig "Cupid Boy" lässt aufhorchen. Der Song stampft überraschend düster und erinnert im minimalistischen Intro und Outro gar an She Wants Revenge. Zum ersten Mal auf der Platte nimmt man in Kylies Stimme so etwas wie ein bisschen Seele wahr, der Refrain gerät gar richtiggehend euphorisch.
Nach "Looking For An Angel", das locker in ein Set der Spice Girls gepasst hätte, und der klassischen Disco-Nummer "Can't Beat The Feeling" mit massig Cowbells (!) kann man Kylie am Ende gar nicht richtig böse sein. Wie sollte man auch, bei so viel sauberfraulicher Harmlosigkeit? Leider kann man von der Musik - einmal mehr - nichts anderes behaupten.

http://www.laut.de/Kylie-Minogue/Aphrodite-(Album

Metro Weekly reviews Aphrodite
Now Playing: Heartstrings
Topic: Aphrodite

Pop Lite

Kylie Minogue doesn't take many chances on Aphrodite, but the album will certainly please her fans
by Doug Rule

KYLIE MINOGUE
Aphrodite
Astralwerks/EMI

*** & 1/2

Published on July 1, 2010, 3:07am

''It's all I wanna do, so won't you dance?'' Kylie Minogue asks on her new album's first single, ''All The Lovers.'' ''I'm standing here with you, why won't you move?''

It's a euphoric song, sure to make you move and perfect for a celebration. But she makes the command to dance and move in a sweet whisper, which is awfully strange when you think about it. Maybe if she shouted it, to match the implied hostility, her intended target would oblige her?

Read the rest at: http://www.metroweekly.com/arts_entertainment/music.php?ak=5386