MADAME X: official reviews are in: MADAME X is a hit with the critics!

[Wunderkind]

45 minutes ago, elijah said:

https://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Kultur/Uebersicht/Madame-X-besser-als-nix-Alles-ueber-das-neue-Album-von-Madonna2

Horrible German review. saying she is no longer relevant. Hope a German member would translate it... Or not.

I don’t have the time to translate it all. And after reading this crap, I don’t really want to. 

basically, they are saying that Madonna isn’t relevant anymore in today’s pop world. 

They say that Dark Ballet is weird and wants too much. Unintentionally strange, all over the place and not modern at all.

God Control is nice and dancy  House, Hip Hop, Strings.

Furure- Reggae, too much autotune, old fashioned  

Batuka - sounds nice and exotic

Killers who are partying - they just complain about the lyrics

i don’t search, I find - a crisp house track but basically a copy of Vogue

 

They say that the album isn’t a disaster but that she doesn’t sound modern anymore , a document of aimlessness.

 

 

 

 

[micro_03]

Alle finden i dont search gut 

bin gespannt 

[Nikki]

see, this is the sort of stuff I hate.. "unintentionally strange" how the fuck would they know M did NOT want to be strange? it's obvious she loves the strangeness and weirdness, that's why she hired Mirwais. people try so hard to fit anything to THEIR NARRATIVE.

[Wunderkind]

I don’t expect any decent reviews from Germany tbh.  Journalists, even for queer sites, love to trash her here. 

[side_streets]

13 minutes ago, Wunderkind said:

I don’t expect any decent reviews from Germany tbh.  Journalists, even for queer sites, love to trash her here. 

Does Madonna have to retire or die in order to be respected? 

[fandonna]

did they really listen to the album?

every critic's reviews sounds the same

[karbatal]

2 hours ago, elijah said:

https://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Kultur/Uebersicht/Madame-X-besser-als-nix-Alles-ueber-das-neue-Album-von-Madonna2

Horrible German review. saying she is no longer relevant. Hope a German member would translate it... Or not.

It seems that he's a DPA correspondent, which means the newspaper simply used that piece. It may appear in other German media for the very same reason. 

[Mensch]

2 hours ago, dubtronic said:

Saw these at madonnatribes instagram with the hastag new york times

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/magazine/madonna-madame-x.html?action=click&module=Top+Stories&pgtype=Homepage

[Wunderkind]

10 minutes ago, karbatal said:

It seems that he's a DPA correspondent, which means the newspaper simply used that piece. It may appear in other German media for the very same reason. 

It already has

[dollhouse]

6 hours ago, Msig said:

The Daily Star published a generally positive track-by-track review:

 

Medellín (with Maluma)
Medellín's psychedelic groove works great as an introduction to what's to come. Strap in... 8/10

Dark Ballet
Madonna's very own Bohemian Rhapsody. A mad, brilliant epic which veers from dubstep to classical. 9/10

God Control
A total pop banger, it's essentially a sequel to her classic hit Vogue. 10/10

Future (with Quavo)
A weird choice to perform at Eurovision, Future is easily the worst song. The beat goes nowhere and Migos rapper Quavo just sounds bored. 4/10

Batuka
Her most convincing hip-hop groove. At 61, she's still learning new moves. 9/10

Killers Who Are Partying
The most controversial song, she states "I'll be..." Africa, Islam, poor and Israel. It'll need a few plays to work out what the song's message really is... Expect a social media war. 7/10

Crave (with Swae Lee)
Madonna and Swae Lee flirt over a heartfelt acoustic backdrop. 7/10

Crazy
Could be by anyone. A forgettable filler track. 5/10

Come Alive
A similar drum attack to Batuka, it's Madonna in attack mode as she snarls: "Who are you talking to?" It turns into a dreamy waltz to stay alive. 8/10

Extreme Occident
Crashing pianos, Indian percussion and rare drama as Madonna sings about doubting herself. 8/10

Faz Gostoso (feat. Anitta)
An epic trance tune which features some hypnotic chanting. 9/10

Bitch I'm Loca (feat. Maluma)
Madonna and Maluma trade lines over a hypnotic groove. 8/10

I Don't Search I Find
Along with God Control, the album's other slice of perfect vintage Madonna disco. 10/10

Looking for Mercy
Another soaring ballad but it's more basic than Crave and goes on too long. 6/10

I Rise
A stadium ballad, you can almost smell the smoke machines. 7/10

 

Faz Gostoso A TRANCE TUNE???

[alcermag]

NME: Bold, bizarre, self-referential, and unlike anything Madonna has ever done before
Score: 4/5 stars

 

Madonna’s latest persona ‘Madame X’ borrows her name from the historical figure Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau: a socialite and occasional muse who scandalised genteel French society when she bared naked flesh – her entire shoulder, would you believe it – in a portrait. And while Madge’s own eye-patch wearing interpretation prefers taking a more enterprising approach to the current job market (Madame X is a mother, a child, a teacher, a nun, a singer, and a saint many among other things) it’s a fitting moniker for a record that restlessly explores all sides of contemporary pop at full divisive pelt: visiting Latin pop, all-out Eurotrash, gloomily percussive trap, NYC disco, house, and reggaeton.
 

During its most reckless moments, ‘Madame X’ is bold, bizarre, and unlike anything Madonna has ever done before. The frantic ‘Dark Ballet’ harnesses gloomily spun strings and robotic overlord vocals; it’s as villainous and foreboding as ‘Ray of Light’s darkest moments, or her ‘Die Another Day’ Bond theme. Then, quite out of nowhere, an extended piano interlude morphs into a mangled, glitching excerpt of ‘Dance of the Reed Pipes’ from Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ – it’s brilliant, overblown ridiculousness. “I want to tell you about love…. and loneliness,” Madonna husks dramatically.

Touching heavily on both these things, ‘Madame X’ explores the state of the world (spoiler: it’s not doing great) at large – as well as Madonna’s place within it – from her new base in Lisbon.  ‘Madame X’ isn’t flawless in its vision: at times, Madonna’s attempts to lead the future revolution can come off as ham-fisted. ‘Killers Who Are Partying’ features some absolute clanging missteps: booming lines like “I’ll be Islam if Islam is hated” and “I’ll be Native Indian if the Indian has been taken” seem like tone-deaf expressions of solidarity, especially from a wealthy white woman who seems to be planting herself at the centre of multiple minority narratives. And moments like ‘I Rise’s rehashed quote from the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre – “Freedom’s what you choose to do with what’s been done to you” – can border on inspirational fridge magnet territory, too broad to establish real connection.

‘Madame X’ is a far more interesting prospect when the focus moves back onto Madonna herself. ‘Crazy’ – produced by Jason Evigan and Kanye West collaborator Mike Dean – is a self-referential accordion bop: “I bend my knees for you like a prayer,” she sings, pointedly name-checking her 1989 album, and flipping from the original’s religious innuendo, towards doomed, dead-end infatuation  “oh god, look at me now”. Elsewhere, the rhythmic whisper of “cha cha cha” on opener and lead single ‘Medellín’ recalls ‘Hard Candy’s ‘Give It 2 Me’.

‘Bitch I’m Loca’, meanwhile, is the sort of swaggering anthem that campy Disney villain Ursula might belt out from the depths: Maluma (who also appears on lead single ‘Medellín’) the ideal sidekick. “Where do you want me to put this?” he drawls with a comedy wink. “You can put it inside” she replies. It’s like Madonna’s diva sketch at the end of ‘Act Of Contrition’ turned Carry On… Madame X. Her cover of ‘Faz Gostoso’ – originally by Brazilian pop star Blaya – is equally great fun. And the House-inflected standout ‘I Don’t Search I Find’  – bringing to mind Shep Pettibone’s production on ‘Vogue’, and repurposing a quote from Pablo Picasso for its title – is just as playful. “Finally, enough love,” Madonna announces.

Throughout her forty year career, outrage has always tailed Madonna closely; a point which is referenced on the likes of ‘Extreme Occident’ and the vulnerable admissions of ‘Looking For Mercy’ (“flawed by design, please sympathise,” she pleads) . “People have always been trying to silence me for one reason or another, whether it’s that I’m not pretty enough, I don’t sing well enough, I’m not talented enough, I’m not married enough, and now it’s that I’m not young enough,” Madonna recently expanded, speaking to Vogue,

In reality, if age wasn’t the chosen topic of the moment, the star would be “too much” of something – anything – else: too sexual, too attention-seeking, too weird, too controversial, too outspoken, too unwilling to disappear quietly into the good night. Instead, Madonna will do no such thing, happiest dancing said night away to the beat of her own creative drum.

 

For the first time since ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’, perhaps, there’s a glint in Madonna’s eye; her visible, un-eyepatched one, at least.  Sonically restless, ‘Madame X’ doesn’t imitate current pop trends as much as it mangles them into new shapes. A record that grapples with being “just way too much”, ultimately, it refuses to tone things down.

https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/madonna-madame-x-review

Edited June 5, 2019 by alcermag

[Flip The Switch]

3 minutes ago, alcermag said:

NME

https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/madonna-madame-x-review

4 stars.

Great review! 

[KalamazooJay]

I still can't get over that Rolling Stone review. 

They've celebrated her -albeit begrudgingly- for the duration of her career. I guess the divisiveness of it all just gets under my skin. It's as if he was on his phone, checking emails, while Madame X played in the background. Plus I've always found RS reviews of her albums to be quite fair on pretty spot on so this is really disappointing. 

I'll always hold a grudge against that magazine for the scathing, misogynistic, and outright unprofessional review of Tori Amos' Boys For Pele. Talk about a review with an agenda.  

 

[sotos8]

Great review from NME , why the RS review isn't appearing at the site? 

[Geiger83]

7 minutes ago, alcermag said:

NME: Bold, bizarre, self-referential, and unlike anything Madonna has ever done before
Score: 4/5 stars

 

Madonna’s latest persona ‘Madame X’ borrows her name from the historical figure Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau: a socialite and occasional muse who scandalised genteel French society when she bared naked flesh – her entire shoulder, would you believe it – in a portrait. And while Madge’s own eye-patch wearing interpretation prefers taking a more enterprising approach to the current job market (Madame X is a mother, a child, a teacher, a nun, a singer, and a saint many among other things) it’s a fitting moniker for a record that restlessly explores all sides of contemporary pop at full divisive pelt: visiting Latin pop, all-out Eurotrash, gloomily percussive trap, NYC disco, house, and reggaeton.
 

During its most reckless moments, ‘Madame X’ is bold, bizarre, and unlike anything Madonna has ever done before. The frantic ‘Dark Ballet’ harnesses gloomily spun strings and robotic overlord vocals; it’s as villainous and foreboding as ‘Ray of Light’s darkest moments, or her ‘Die Another Day’ Bond theme. Then, quite out of nowhere, an extended piano interlude morphs into a mangled, glitching excerpt of ‘Dance of the Reed Pipes’ from Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ – it’s brilliant, overblown ridiculousness. “I want to tell you about love…. and loneliness,” Madonna husks dramatically.

Touching heavily on both these things, ‘Madame X’ explores the state of the world (spoiler: it’s not doing great) at large – as well as Madonna’s place within it – from her new base in Lisbon.  ‘Madame X’ isn’t flawless in its vision: at times, Madonna’s attempts to lead the future revolution can come off as ham-fisted. ‘Killers Who Are Partying’ features some absolute clanging missteps: booming lines like “I’ll be Islam if Islam is hated” and “I’ll be Native Indian if the Indian has been taken” seem like tone-deaf expressions of solidarity, especially from a wealthy white woman who seems to be planting herself at the centre of multiple minority narratives. And moments like ‘I Rise’s rehashed quote from the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre – “Freedom’s what you choose to do with what’s been done to you” – can border on inspirational fridge magnet territory, too broad to establish real connection.

‘Madame X’ is a far more interesting prospect when the focus moves back onto Madonna herself. ‘Crazy’ – produced by Jason Evigan and Kanye West collaborator Mike Dean – is a self-referential accordion bop: “I bend my knees for you like a prayer,” she sings, pointedly name-checking her 1989 album, and flipping from the original’s religious innuendo, towards doomed, dead-end infatuation  “oh god, look at me now”. Elsewhere, the rhythmic whisper of “cha cha cha” on opener and lead single ‘Medellín’ recalls ‘Hard Candy’s ‘Give It 2 Me’.

‘Bitch I’m Loca’, meanwhile, is the sort of swaggering anthem that campy Disney villain Ursula might belt out from the depths: Maluma (who also appears on lead single ‘Medellín’) the ideal sidekick. “Where do you want me to put this?” he drawls with a comedy wink. “You can put it inside” she replies. It’s like Madonna’s diva sketch at the end of ‘Act Of Contrition’ turned Carry On… Madame X. Her cover of ‘Faz Gostoso’ – originally by Brazilian pop star Blaya – is equally great fun. And the House-inflected standout ‘I Don’t Search I Find’  – bringing to mind Shep Pettibone’s production on ‘Vogue’, and repurposing a quote from Pablo Picasso for its title – is just as playful. “Finally, enough love,” Madonna announces.

Throughout her forty year career, outrage has always tailed Madonna closely; a point which is referenced on the likes of ‘Extreme Occident’ and the vulnerable admissions of ‘Looking For Mercy’ (“flawed by design, please sympathise,” she pleads) . “People have always been trying to silence me for one reason or another, whether it’s that I’m not pretty enough, I don’t sing well enough, I’m not talented enough, I’m not married enough, and now it’s that I’m not young enough,” Madonna recently expanded, speaking to Vogue,

In reality, if age wasn’t the chosen topic of the moment, the star would be “too much” of something – anything – else: too sexual, too attention-seeking, too weird, too controversial, too outspoken, too unwilling to disappear quietly into the good night. Instead, Madonna will do no such thing, happiest dancing said night away to the beat of her own creative drum.

 

For the first time since ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’, perhaps, there’s a glint in Madonna’s eye; her visible, un-eyepatched one, at least.  Sonically restless, ‘Madame X’ doesn’t imitate current pop trends as much as it mangles them into new shapes. A record that grapples with being “just way too much”, ultimately, it refuses to tone things down.

https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/madonna-madame-x-review

Thanks! That is a great review!

[Saskra]

3 hours ago, Nikki said:

using google translate, I dont think it's a horrible review.. but they spent half of it complaining about Eurovision and autotune. 

this is horrible.

 I´m german and i can tell this is a horrible review. they say it is as awful as her esc gig.

[Nikki]

Just now, Saskra said:

this is horrible.

 I´m german and i can tell this is a horrible review. they say it is as awful as her esc gig.

Okay.. but then you read the NME and other reviews and know they’re talking BS. Oh well, it’s german media, and apparantly they hate all american pop women

[Shaun]

Great review from NME!

[Pablo94]

Really good review from NME and some more details of tracks that doesn’t feel like a rehash of previous information 

[Geiger83]

1 minute ago, Nikki said:

Oh well, it’s german media, and apparantly they hate all american pop women

Well, I wouldn't put it that way...I'd rather say German media are very polarising and Madonna really has the power to provoque them. I am more curious about what illustrious newspapers (as TAZ, Spiegel, Die Welt) will  write. This one (haz) isn't - IMO - that important

[Flip The Switch]

4 minutes ago, Pablo94 said:

Really good review from NME and some more details of tracks that doesn’t feel like a rehash of previous information 

“I want to tell you about love...and loneliness” Future Lovers reference 

[stevo208]

That NME review is glorious.

[headonfire]

NME's one is what a review should be. Completely about the music, without backhanded compliments or easy digs.

THIS ALBUM WILL BE A CREATIVE MASTERPIECE!

[elijah]

How has NME reviewed her latest albums? This one sounds good.

[karbatal]

The review of NME is so great!!!!!

[Guest dcbyebyebaby]

11 minutes ago, Flip The Switch said:

“I want to tell you about love...and loneliness” Future Lovers reference 

Thats from Eurovision though lol

[TXIII]

What a wonderful review and as others said, it was actually about the album!

[elijah]

NME Review of Madonna’s “Rebel Heart” album 

 

Three years after 2012’s EDM-driven ‘MDNA’ album, ‘Rebel Heart’ finds 56-year-old Madonna still trying to pass herself off as a teenager. It’s a disconnect that has become increasingly grating.

Rather than the return to ’80s underground New York promised by lead single ‘Living For Love’, her 13th album is a scattergun attempt to hit all the bases of modern pop. Instead of having one producer at the helm, as ‘MNDA’ did with William Orbit, Madonna hired the biggest chart-humping names she could find. Avicii co-writes three tracks: ‘HeartBreakCity’, ‘Devil Pray’ – reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s crazed 2013 dance tune ‘Aura’ – and the ballad ‘Wash All Over Me’. Kanye produces three: the classy, ‘Vogue’-referencing ‘Illuminati’, ‘Holy Water’ and ‘Wash All Over Me’. Diplo drives four: ‘Bitch I’m Madonna’, ‘Unapologetic Bitch’, ‘Living For Love’, ‘Hold Tight’. And Drake associates Dahi and Michael ‘Blood’ Diamonds take two: ‘Devil Pray’ and ‘Body Shop’. Chance The Rapper (trendy) and Nicki Minaj (bankable) rap on ‘Iconic’ and ‘Bitch I’m Madonna’ respectively.

Diplo fares best. The pulsating ‘Living For Love’ is exactly what this record should have been top-to-tail, and the digi-reggae of ‘Unapologetic Bitch’ could’ve fallen off the back of a Major Lazer album. Diplo makes Madge sound fun, but as the candy-bass ‘Bitch I’m Madonna’ – on which she sings “We’re jumping in the pool and swimming with our clothes on / I poured beer in my shoe and got my freak on” – shows, the gulf between her life and her music is now impossible to ignore.

The punchy ‘HeartBreakCity’ – a song Lorde would dismiss as too juvenile an interpretation of a break-up – illustrates that however on-point her musical instincts, this persona just isn’t believable any more. ‘Holy Water’ implores, “Kiss it better, kiss it better / Make it better, make it wetter / Don’t it taste like holy water”. Coitus in mid-life can of course still be a richly rewarding experience, but must we hear quite so many details? Twee ballad ‘Body Shop’ hinges on a similarly tortuous lyrical conceit (“My transmission’s blown… You can keep it in overnight / You can do whatever you like”).

Ultimately, ‘Rebel Heart’ feels like a wasted opportunity. Trite self-empowerment anthem ‘Iconic’ informs us that there’s only two letters difference between Icon and I Can’t. Sadly, there are also two letters between class and ass.

5 out of 10 stars

[elijah]

OMG, total U turn of NME! They love MadameX and hated the glorious RH. Interesting!

[Kurt420]

That NME review is perfect!! Focuses just on the music. Clear the reviewer has no agenda going in. 

Between Eurovision and now this, it's clear to me everyone in German media has some sort of stick up their ass. Blech! Hasn't it warmed up there yet for summer?? Maybe some sun will do those people good. Miserable cunts.