Madonna
Hard Candy

THE REVIEW

Today, the new album by Madonna has made its appearance. The cover immediately grabs your attention with its decidedly kitsch, colorful design that shows a singer in her fifties still possessing a certain energy and perhaps a touch of mischievousness. Hard Candy is a title that doesn't convince me. Too succinct and not evocative at all. But let's get into the details, forget about the cover and insert the CD into the stereo.

The first song, Candy Shop, is perhaps the weakest of the entire album. It closely recalls Where's the Party from back in '86, but adds an r&b atmosphere, which thankfully (in my opinion) fades away throughout the rest of the album, which had been announced as Madonna's descent into the ghettos of black music. The listening continues with the already well-known 4 Minutes, the true trailblazer of the album, a track purely to advertise Madonna's new musical direction. A song that is certainly simple and, I dare say, easy-going, but Madonna manages to dignify even the smartest pop, conveying an exaltation that many other pop singers can only dream of.

Continuing with the listening, we discover that this album lives through many other spirits besides r&b, foremost among them the '70s dance, resurrected and revered in the previous Confessions and reappearing here in entertaining and well-conceived tracks like Dance 2night, built on a warm and irresistible melody. It reappears in Give it to me, with its compelling and playful progression. Another sound on this album is represented by '80s pop, which peeks through in Beat Goes On, with its vintage synthesizers, or in She's not me. 

The best of the album, in my opinion, is composed of the slower and more relaxed songs. Calling them ballads would be improper because they remain very rhythmic and danceable. The first to appear in the tracklist is Miles Away, a sweet and nostalgic song with a smooth and catchy melody. Perhaps the best track on the album. Incredible, although also quite sweet, shows a greater use of electronic tricks and a less regular melody, even scratched here and there. As we focus on the so-called ballads, we move towards the last two tracks of the album. Devil wouldn't recognize you is a vaguely sad song in line with the album's overall sound, where the heavy use of electronics brings to mind the experiments of Music and American Life. However, here the use of synthesizers has been implemented with much more skill, producing a less abrasive atmosphere but instead soft and sleek. Finally, the last song is Voices, entirely built on violin samples and a persistent beat. Personally, I believe that the last track of any album should always be a surprise for the listener. Closing an album with dignity with a song that goes straight to the ears and heart means encouraging the listener to start the album from the beginning again. An objective that Madonna hits in full, with a dark yet playful song, with old-fashioned nuances and a surprising, frantic, and extraordinarily elegant conclusion.

 In conclusion, this album represents yet another demonstration of Madonna's talent and that of the producers she collaborated with. I don't think it's fair to give it 5 stars because I find it slightly inferior to the previous album, which was more heartfelt and engaging, all built around nostalgia for disco music. However, I am very satisfied because I was expecting an album too "contemporary" and close to black sounds. Instead, Madonna skillfully reshuffled the sounds she has gathered throughout her career, repeatedly citing herself. What does she have in store for us in the future? I hope she returns to offer us her more "serious" and intimate side that we heard in Like a Prayer, Bedtime Stories, and Ray of Light. What always surprises about Madonna is her extraordinary ability to combine the most unrestrained frivolity with the most sincere interiority, the sacred with the profane.