• Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed
  • Search Site

Polari Magazine

  • Home
  • Up Front
    • Editorial
    • Clementine: The Living Fashion Doll
    • Polari Safari
    • WTF? Friday
    • Bulletin Board
    • Polari Facts
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Features
    • Gallery
    • Opinion
    • Heroes & Villains
  • Community
    • Oral Histories
    • Coming Out Stories
    • Relationships
    • IDAHO
    • LGBT History Month
    • Blogs
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Film and Television
    • Music
    • Stage
    • Visual Arts
    • Classics: Books
    • Classics: Film and Television
    • Classics: Music
  • About
    • About Polari Magazine
    • Contributors
    • Contact

You are here: Polari Magazine / Music / MDNA • Madonna

MDNA • Madonna

22 Mar 2012 / Comments Off / in Music/by Nick Smith

MDNA ★★★★★
Madonna
50:45 min • Live Nation, Interscope • March 26, 2012
………………………………………………………………………………………….

MDNA is the 12th studio album proper from the musical chameleon Madonna, and it’s as bold and dark as the artwork suggests, with elements of personas of yore as well as newer components in the mix. Prefaced by the cutesy Martin Solveig produced-by-numbers ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’ featuring the smoking Nicki Minaj and the mysterious M.I.A., MDNA is without a doubt one of her most eagerly anticipated albums. And she certainly delivers the goods, armed with a team comprising of accomplished dance producers Benny Benassi and Martin Solveig, along with ambient wunderkind William Orbit.

It opens with the thumping Benny Benassi number ‘Girl Gone Wild’, which is reminiscent of his remixes of ‘Celebration’ with a chorus of “hey-yay-yay” that is impossible to get out of your head. The tone shifts deftly on the dark and sinister ‘Gang Bang’ where our muse takes on the role of a badass gangsta that Lana Del Rey may aspire to. The innovative, deconstructed dubstep obscurity of the track is welcome, but it falls prey to some rather hackneyed lyrics however, “Fish out of water, Bat out of hell”. This is somewhat ironic, as eight writers worked on the sparse prose, including Mika and William Orbit. Benassi then picks up the baton with the hypnotic number ‘I’m Addicted’ echoing Kylie Minogue’s maverick ‘Speakerphone’. While the track is a huge dance-floor thriller, the lyrics are, dare I say, quite reductive; the “Love Is The Drug” premise is hardly ground-breaking. MDNA is, in parts, quite self-referential but Madonna has always had her tongue firmly in cheek so can pull this off, as highlighted magnificently on the vocal stutters of ‘I’m Addicted’, where her highness appears to repeat, “I’m A Dick”.

One of the record’s lyrical misfires is the track ‘Superstar’ with its incessant name-dropping and self-referencing and lines that are far too contemporary, rendering the song immediately disposable. Although it is rather endearing to hear daughter Lourdes on backing vocals.

You can have the password to my phone,
I’ll give you a massage when you get home.

The album truly begins to sparkle at track four, the epic ‘Turn Up The Radio’ with Solveig’s beautiful spacey shimmer all over this future pop stomper. The French DJ truly shines with the vitriolic bird-flipper ‘I Don’t Give A’ on which Madonna finally nails a rap with some segments pouring with opportune lyrical disdain, only to be overshadowed by a fantastic, effortless Nicki Minaj middle-eight. This culminates in a fierce operatic ending that literally comes out of nowhere.

I tried to be your wife, diminish myself and swallow my light
I tried to become all that you expect of me,
and if it was a failure, I don’t give a…

It must be said that when William Orbit presides, the album truly ignites. ‘Some Girls’ is Orbit and Ciccone at their most glam. This synth-pop composition with diverse vocal styles builds into a genuinely adorable bridge. ‘I’m A Sinner’ is the nefarious sister to ‘Beautiful Stranger’ with some wondrous ’60s touches and an inspired recital of “Hail Mary”. And ‘Love Spent’ begins with an exquisite Romany guitar riff more than reminiscent of ‘Hung Up’ that reappears in the chorus.

There are however two stand-out tracks. The first, the sensitive and glorious ballad ‘Masterpiece’ where Madonna’s vocal is truly heart-breaking underpinned by an acoustic guitar, gentle drums and subtle strings. And the second, the ambient closer ‘Falling Free’ with a velvet-smooth vocal and ethereal undertones that resonate with the inner peace felt when the dust settles after an overwhelming sense of loss. The alchemic teaming with brother-in-law Joe Henry again proves pure gold, closing the album with the redeeming lyric, “I let loose the need to know, we’re both free, both free to go”.

The album’s deluxe release includes three further Solveig produced tracks ‘Beautiful Killer’, ‘B-Day Song’ and the magnificent ‘I Fucked Up’ evoking the genius of Neneh Cherry’s ‘Manchild’ before bursting into a brilliant bridge. In addition, there is a further Benassi produced track, the trancy ‘Best Friend’, and an LFMAO remix of ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’.

MDNA is a somewhat cathartic journey where we perceive vitriol, scorn and bitterness, but also elements of the carefree, fun-loving, acceptance and redemption. This makes for great pop record with touches of innovation and heralds a reinvigorated Madonna.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
Tags: kylie minogue, m.i.a., madonna, martin solveig, mdna, nicki minaj, william orbit

Related Posts

Did you like this entry?
Here are a few more posts that might be interesting for you.
Related Posts
Future Souls • Uh Huh Her
Sounds From Nowheresville • The Ting Tings
I AM Legend: An interview with Larry Tee
An Interview with Charlie Hides
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded • Nicki Minaj
You typed WHAT?! into Google?
Matangi • M.I.A.
WTF?! Who types ‘sick poofs’ into Goog...
Weekly Digest, September 9, 2012, Polari Magazine, gay online magazine Weekly Digest • Week of August 13
Sing You Sinners: A Hitparade of Bad Romances

Search Polari

Latest Posts

  • Polari Magazine 2008-2014December 3, 2014 - 6:16 pm
  • Tearing Up Their Map: An Interview with LambDecember 2, 2014 - 2:45 pm
  • Future Islands • GigDecember 2, 2014 - 1:41 pm
  • Puppets with Attitude (at Christmas)December 1, 2014 - 6:30 pm
  • The Aesthetic of Voyeurism: Interview with Antonio Da SilvaDecember 1, 2014 - 1:25 pm
  • Broke With Expensive Taste • Azealia BanksNovember 28, 2014 - 3:59 pm
  • Royalty Strutting on an American College Stage: Miss and Mr. Gay ISU 2014November 27, 2014 - 2:59 pm
  • Bright Light Bright Light: Everything I Ever WantedNovember 26, 2014 - 11:15 am
  • Jaime Nanci And The Blueboys: ‘Toy’ TalkNovember 25, 2014 - 4:09 pm

About Polari Magazine

Polari Magazine is an LGBT arts and culture magazine that explores the subculture by looking at what is important to the people who are in it. It’s about the lives we lead, not the lifestyles we’re supposed to lead.

Its content is informed & insightful, and features a diverse range of writers from every section of the community. Its intent is to help LGBT readers learn about their own heritage and to sustain a link between the present and the past.

Polari is designed to nurture the idea of community, whether that be social and political, or artistic and creative. It is your magazine, whether you want to read it, or whether you want to get involved in it, if you're gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, or queer.

Polari Magazine is all these: it's a gay online magazine; it's a gay and lesbian online magazine; it's an LGBT arts and culture magazine. Ultimately, it is a queer magazine.

Latest Posts

  • Polari Magazine 2008-2014December 3, 2014 - 6:16 pm
  • Tearing Up Their Map: An Interview with LambDecember 2, 2014 - 2:45 pm
  • Future Islands • GigDecember 2, 2014 - 1:41 pm
  • Puppets with Attitude (at Christmas)December 1, 2014 - 6:30 pm
  • The Aesthetic of Voyeurism: Interview with Antonio Da SilvaDecember 1, 2014 - 1:25 pm
  • Broke With Expensive Taste • Azealia BanksNovember 28, 2014 - 3:59 pm
  • Royalty Strutting on an American College Stage: Miss and Mr. Gay ISU 2014November 27, 2014 - 2:59 pm
  • Bright Light Bright Light: Everything I Ever WantedNovember 26, 2014 - 11:15 am
  • Jaime Nanci And The Blueboys: ‘Toy’ TalkNovember 25, 2014 - 4:09 pm

Twitter

Tweets by @PolariMagazine

Archive

  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • July 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • May 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
© Copyright - Polari Magazine - Wordpress Theme by Kriesi.at
  • scroll to top
  • Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Website Privacy & Cookies