‘Soul’ Music
The moment you finish the second track, “Good for the Soul,” however, you will fall in love with Madonna all over again. She totally hits the nail on the head here. The grove is intricate, esoteric, and absolutely hypnotic. It’s a stunning blend that pulls from the best of Confessions on a Dance Floor and Ray of Light. The drum rhythms and vocal delivery are masterful, creating a dancing pulse that marks this as a definitive standout. It’s a Massive Attack of awesomeness, making you pause and replay it several times before moving forward.
“One Step Away” follows, a track where the Queen of Pop slamdunks the debate that the dance floor is superficial. Deliciously incorporating brave and extraordinary vocal inflections, this mid-tempo dance groove is wonderfully original. It works equally well for getting butts on the dance floor as it does as a smooth background soundtrack for chilling. (Or for “Netflix and chilling.”)
Collaborative Gold and Niche Bangers
The first irresistible, contagious banger arrives with “Bring Your Love.” Madonna is joined by the stunningly talented Sabrina Carpenter. Their unique voices meld perfectly. Carpenter impressively holds her own against the Queen of Pop on this fun, funky dance track, which channels early-’80s Madonna, Madame X-era experimentation, and 2000s techno-trance. The combination is simply flawless. It’s the dynamic, pulsating smooth dance-pop anthem we needed.
The dynamic duo debuted “Bring Your Love” last April in Southern California during Carpenter’s show at Coachella, and the performance was spectacular, unarguably clocking in as one of the best performances that has ever hit the Coachella stage in its history.
“Danceteria” keeps the rhythm pumping, finding Madonna reminiscing about her early dance club glory days in the totally-awesome ’80s. She name-drops besties like Debbie Mazar and future pop culture icons like Jean-Michel Basquiat, The B-52s, and Keith Haring (pictured below). It’s a fun club anthem with a destined-for-Billboard chorus.
A hilarious “Danceteria”highlight is her playful “diss” of one of her earliest supporters, DJ Mark Kamins, with a crack about cocaine. But lines or no lines, Madge’s dance-trance track is so sharp and hypnotic that you can practically feel the ’80s drift back for three minutes while grooving to this song.
Mid-Album Missteps
Unfortunately, Confessions II starts to dip midway through. “Read My Lips” is fine—evocative of Music‘s “Don’t Tell Me” but with random Spanish interludes—but “Everything,” a techno-infused anthem focused on haters, fails. The song is so esoteric that even Michael Stipe might find the lyrical landscape confusing. This, along with “Love Sensation” and “Love Without Words,” are interchangeable, repetitious, and the album’s most skippable moments.
The slump breaks with “Bizarre.” Rumored to be a diss track about ex-husband Sean Penn, the clever lyrics could just as easily target James Dean or any other ill-fated Hollywood leading man. It is one of the coolest and catchiest celebrity diss tracks since “My Name Is”–and it’s not nearly as bizarre as Shanghai Surprise.
Sincerity and Masterpieces
The final act of the album features the strongest work. In “School,” Madonna plays both teacher and pupil, pleading: “Please, someone, teach me something I don’t already know.” The emotional piece de resistance arrives, however, with “Fragile.”
“Fragile” is arguably Madonna’s best songwriting since “Live to Tell.” It is her deepest cut—a magnificent tribute to her brother, Christopher Ciccone. Reminiscent of Erotica‘s brilliant tribute song “In this Life,” “Fragile” highlights her brilliant talent for sincere, authentic storytelling set to a perfect groove. It is an engaging, mesmerizing masterpiece. If you don’t shed a tear, check your pulse.
“The Test” is another fantastic song driven by profound talent. An ode to her daughter, Lourdes (Lola) Leon, the track features Lola on beautiful vocals. Madonna explores realizing what it must feel like to walk in her celebrity shadow.
Lyrically and musically, “this”The Test” is one of the strongest tracks she has ever recorded. Handing the crown to Lourdes, the track feels like passing the torch, and Lola sprints to the finish line by delivering mesmerizing vocals that melt seamlessly with her mom’s platinum-selling pipes.
The album continues its strong finish with “L.E.S. Girl,” another standout track that features raw emotion as Madonna reminisces about her early days in New York City. “L.E.S. Girl” again features Madonna in a way that feels raw, unguarded, and emotionally direct, almost like she’s issuing an apology to one of her first boyfriends. The song sketches out fragments of people from that time, including a friend with a Marlon Brando–like face who actually introduced her to her first boyfriend and helped set her on her early path in music.
And while the entire track is strong in both lyricism and musicality, there’s this very direct emotional thread that seems aimed at Dan Gilroy, a former flame who would later go on to front the pop band The Breakfast Club.
“Lower East Side girl
Lost in a fragile world
Drink too much whiskey
Cigarettes when he kissed me
Lower East Side boy
I wasn’t meant for you.”
Note: Strangely, one of the best dance tracks, the mercilessly melodic “Hot Sauce,” which is omitted from the main release. Found only as a bonus on the “Icon Edition,” this bilingual club banger, sung mostly in Spanish, is certain to heat up any dance floor with its thumping baseline and seventies-era discofied beats.
The Verdict
Confessions II is a long-awaited and worthwhile release. Is it the spectacular, consistently flawless comeback fans may have hoped for, matching the perfection of the early ’80s or Ray of Light? No.
Pre-release hype, which primarily focused on the dark underground of the gay underworld (sex clubs, poppers, glory holes), was off-putting to many fans not immersed in that scene. However, setting that aside and listening to the album straight through immediately reveals sheer artistry, superb production, and brilliant songwriting.
The album ebbs and flows, balancing dancefloor bangers with some of Madonna’s most excellent, mid-tempo emotional tributes. We would expect nothing less from the Queen of Pop. This album feels like the spark, proving Madonna is ready to return to the spotlight, and we can only imagine that what comes next will be progressively stronger.
