The queen of reinvention, you can picture what every great Madonna record looks like without even listening to it
Oh just seize me by the collar and cha-cha me into oblivion, Madonna! This month The Queen of Pop returned with the first taster of ‘Madame X’ – her first record in four years – and in short, it’s evidence that she’s bursting with fresh inspiration. Featuring the Colombian singer Maluma, and taking its name from his birth city of ‘Medellin’, Latin pop influence appears to be back for Madge – who moved permanently to the Portuguese capital of Lisbon last year. And while she might’ve been enjoying a few more trips on the city’s ancient trams in recent years (who am I kidding, she definitely has a chauffeur) this isn’t a brand new obsession. In truth, Madonna has been channelling this sort of thing since the days of ‘La Isla Bonita’ and her video for ‘Borderline’. Perhaps that’s why it stands out?
When it comes to Madonna, the word reinvention quickly comes to mind. Think about her path, and you think of the effortless way that she transforms herself; she’s a chameleon who shifted from ‘True Blue’s yearning Marilyn Monroe figure to the crotch-grabbing sinner of ‘Like A Prayer’. These days every pop star worth their salt approaches each album like a separate world with a distinct visual identity; it’s now very common to hear music fans referring to things like Ariana Grande’s ‘Sweetener’ phase or The 1975’s ‘Music for Cars’ era. This has been Madonna’s game since 1979.
Let’s be real, we’ve been waiting for Madonna to return with a strong new era for some time. Yes, ‘MDNA’ had a few underrated bangers in the mix (hiya ‘Easy Ride’) but it was also fragmented as albums go, and felt like a rushed production job; the album title bearing all the subtlety of a Stella-swigging lad asking if “anyone’s got Mandy’s number”. Though her 2015 follow-up ‘Rebel Heart’ was a far stronger record, it was also one of jarring halves that didn’t quite connect; torn somewhere between the music Madonna wanted to make, and the music that she perhaps felt she had to make.
Meanwhile, the entire visual identity of her forthcoming new album ‘Madame X’ feels like a deliberate throwback, in the sense that it nods to Madonna’s most sensational run of albums. From ‘Music’s campy cowboy look around the turn of the noughties, to ’Confessions on a Dance Floor’s high-cut neon leotards, the wedding dress of ‘Like A Virgin’ or ‘True Blue’s preened mop of glamorous platinum blonde, you can picture what every great Madonna record looks like without even listening to it.
Read more at https://www.nme.com/blogs/material-girl-campy-cowboy-madonnas-iconic-eras-2482550#QDi5VtsralTgxe5V.99
