Released in 1997, surrounded by Britpop and the rise of dance music, this album taps in to the zeitgeist as Minogue enlists the help of both The Manic Street Preachers and dance music producers Brothers in Rhythm to create one of her best records despite what the critics of the time thought as they panned it.
There were questions around the new indie direction Kylie was taking upon the release of ‘Some Kind Of Bliss’ which is a far cry from ’I Should Be So Lucky’ but is very much in the style of The Manics. The questions continued when the video for ‘Did It Again’ was released where Kylie played a number of alternative versions of herself including “Indie Kylie”.
The album is not an indie record, in fact it is hard to pin down as it is a bit of a 90s musical genre best of. The single ‘Breathe’ has more than a hint of William Orbit produced All Saints about it, while ‘Say Hey’ sounds like a Bjork song of the Debut vintage. ‘Drunk’ could be an Underworld track’, Limbo’ evokes a Republica/Chemical Brothers mashup while ‘Through The Years’ reminds me of a jazzy Portishead.
On first listen the album doesn’t sound coherent, it sounds like a greatest hits showcasing an artist who has genre-hopped as their career has progressed. Stay with it though and you are rewarded with a cracking LP that isn’t ‘classic Kylie’ and is all the better for it in my opinion.
If any of that sounds like it polishes your crown, the albums has recently been rereleased on vinyl for the first time to celebrate its 25th anniversary (oh man, I feel old now!) on purple marble or orange disc and is available all over the place.
Tracks To Try: ‘Did It Again’, ‘Breathe’, ‘Say Hey’, ‘Drunk’, ‘Limbo’.
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