In Review: Kylie Minogue - DISCO

Kylie's record-breaking fifteenth (fifteenth?!) album gets the glitterball spinning, inducing some serious mum, or dad, dancing whilst we see out this dreadful year. Sequins and marabou feathers at the ready, we need this.

Posted: 17 November 2020 Words: Verity Vincent

Believe it or not, DISCO is Kylie Minogue's fifteenth studio album (fifteenth?!) and during a time when we are all locked down and fed up with the outcome of 2020, this album is a whimsical beacon, spinning its glitterball at a more positive end to the year.

Is DISCO filled with banger after banger? No, but every track blends beautifully together, creating a piece of work whose uplifting tone will easily carry you through a night in. Opener and lead single ‘Magic’ sets the pace of the album, it's teasing tempo and signature Kylie sound lets you know what you’re in for; 54 minutes of pure disco beats that will induce some serious mum, or dad, dancing.

A highlight of the album sits halfway through with ‘Say Something’. Writer credits are shared with the Brighton-based team Biffco who also worked on some of Spice Girls hugest tunes. There is an air of country to this track, which we know Kylie has dabbled with previously and overall, has a funkier bassline. For uber fans, the super deluxe version of DISCO benefits from a Basement Jaxx remix, available only via Kylie’s official website.

One of the treats with DISCO is that it manages to be explorative while staying true to a disco root. Spanish flamenco creeps through on ‘Monday Blues’, while ‘Supernova’ is filled with spacey effects reminiscent of Will.I.Am. Hitting peak “disco” at the halfway mark, ‘Where Does the DJ Go’ almost feels like a homage to Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’, moving into a serious Daft Punk vibe on ‘Dance Floor Darling. Once you’re into the final handful of tracks they almost blend to one, but by then you’re probably a bottle of wine deep so who cares right? There’s no real surprises or any subtly placed ballads, but with an impressive 16 offerings on the deluxe album, it’ll keep you feeling as high as the notes in ‘Till You Love Somebody’.

‘Spotlight’ is an apt closer to signify the amount of attention the album is receiving, with the spotlight on a Kylie vs Little Mix battle to number 1, which is totally justified. If live music returns as we knew it for 2021, there is no doubt that Kylie will be disco-ing into our lives; Sequins and marabou feathers at the ready, we need this.