Kylie Minogue, Tension II: lacks sparkle – but keeps the show chugging along

Kylie Minogue: Tension II
Kylie Minogue: Tension II - Charlotte Rutherford

The preservation of Kylie Minogue has been wondrous to witness. At 56 years old, the hardworking Australian trouper still commands attention in a supposedly fickle, youth-obsessed pop environment. Indeed, she has been enjoying a higher profile in the vast American market than she has for most of her long career.

Tension II is her 17th album and first sequel, capitalising on the perhaps slightly unexpected success of 2023’s Tension, which spawned viral smash Padam Padam. Next year, she embarks on a world tour, her biggest since 2011, including two nights in Madison Square Garden in New York and four shows at London’s O2 Arena.

From a music critical point of view, it can be hard not to marvel at how much Kylie has achieved with so little, and I’m not talking about her 5” height. Her material is mostly composed by writing teams (albeit with increasing contributions from Minogue herself) which tends to mean that when you are hot you get the pick of the pops, but when you’re not you have to make the most of leftovers. The lyrics she has contended with across four decades have rarely shifted beyond the most superficial concerns of youth, delivering banal variations on themes of sex and dancing that seem increasingly ill fitting.

I suppose there are fiftysomethings who still live for dancing away the weekend (the subject of recent single Edge of Saturday Night and at least half the songs on this album) and having intense sex with inappropriate others (the subject of the other half, with some degree of crossover). “Touch me, go exploring / Take me for a ride / Midnight until morning / Turn on more than the lights” is about as poetic as it gets on the cliched Kiss Bang Bang and it took a team of five to sign off on that.

Minogue’s voice is unspectacular, slightly nasally pinched and lacking in tone, timbre and range, completely absent the pyrotechnical abilities, melodic flow or soulful emotional edges that might push such trite material beyond base pleasures. Yet Minogue herself has long since learned how to make the most of it. Credited as Vocal Recording Engineer (a trade she mastered during Covid lockdowns), she layers her vocals so that multiple tracks shadow each other without becoming heavy or strident. Nevertheless, she favours deliveries that are either childishly soft or almost rat-a-tat robotic, and her accent can switch bizarrely so that she sounds like a tough New Yorker on Edge of Saturday Night and an autotuned Korean teen on a weirdly K-pop styled bedroom seduction Hello.

But in pop the whole package matters: videos, outfits, choreography, artwork, shows – and Minogue never stints on any of it. She has managed a transition from bright ingénue to imperial pop princess and landed on her rightful podium as a glamorous vintage disco goddess. I am not convinced there are any Zeitgeist catching wonders on Tension II, an album of slick but slightly out of date electronic dance music featuring a surfeit of cross collaborations with mid-rank contemporary stars (Tove Lo, Bebe Rexha, Sia) and a couple of leftfield hipsters (the Blessed Madonna, Orville Peck).

It is arguably a better collection than the original Tension but lacks wow factor and a solid gold banger. It’s good enough to keep the Kylie show on the road, though. So release the tension, enjoy the ride.


Tension II is out now with BMG 


Songs of the Week

By Poppie Platt

Confidence Man, I Can’t Lose You

The Australian dance-pop hedonists are one of the most fun live acts around – just watch clips from their Glastonbury set this summer, or catch them live in the UK in December – and their new album 3AM (La La La) provides yet more bangers. This infectious standout is like Kylie had a musical baby with Kevin and Perry.

Gordi x SOAK, Lunch at Dune

Fans of atmospheric indie, in the vein of Bon Iver, Snail Mail or Waxahatchee, will fall in love with this heart-wrenching duet from Aussie singer-songwriter Gordi and Irish artist SOAK; written together after Gordi (real name Sophie Payten) flew to Dublin to meet them – and to learn how to “split the G of a Guinness” and sample a viral spice bag from the local Chinese takeaway.

Gracie Abrams, I Told You Things

Taylor Swift’s close pal and collaborator today released a deluxe version of her chart-topping album, The Secret of Us. Of the four bonus tracks, I Told You Things is destined to be the hit: blending her usual introspective lyrics about cursed relationships and the pangs of heartbreak with stripped-back strings.

Japandroids, All Bets Are Off

Taken from the Canadian pop-punk duo’s fourth and final album Fate & Alcohol (released today), All Bets Are Off was written about an old flame spotted by singer-guitarist Brian King while on a break from touring.

Morgan Wallen, Love Somebody

America’s reigning country pop star returns with Love Somebody – following the success of his summer smash I Had Some Help, with Post Malone – another yearning track about searching for a lover who “won’t leave a hole in my heart”.