Review of Madonna's MDNA

Madonna released her twelfth studio album, MDNA, this Monday, March 26. Courtesy of Spotify, I listened to this recent effort on the day it came out. MDNA, used as an entendre for the drug MDMA but more rightfully for Madonna DNA and an abbreviated spelling of the singer's name, reminds that she is the source of controversy that has paved the way for many pop stars, by infusing references to religion and sexuality, often irreverently. At times, this feels like a forward stab to Lady Gaga, especially considering her recent "reductive" words about Gaga. She wants everyone to know that she is "Queen"--that she is what brought pop to what it is now. Fittingly, Madonna's performance beneath the heavy electronic alterations (especially in "Gang Bang") sounds much like it did twenty years ago during her times of greatest controversy in her Like a Prayer-Erotica era, before her vocal training for Evita. She has continued exploring this, revisiting the black-and-white music video for "Girl Gone Wild," like she did with "Justify My Love" and "Erotica." Similarly, "Girl" has met censory with an 18 and older age stamp on Youtube.

While the album's production sounds good, most of the lyrics seem forced. Madonna set out to make an album, and that's what she did--she made an album, when she needed to create one. However, production all-around is nothing short than what she wanted--a full ride in the dance genre for a non-stop party, as she did with Confessions on a Dance Floor but without revealing lyrics and cohesive beats (without brilliance, basically). An issue with the album is that there are little standouts for single releases. The track that comes closest is "I'm Addicted," which, besides the lyrics, sounds very close to Pet Shop Boys cuts. A potential promo release for club play is "Gang Bang," which sounds darkly fantasy-filled enough for Gaga, screwball co-writer Mika, or a metal arrangement. It isn't until near the end of the album that lyrics start to take meaning, on the tracks she collaborated with William Orbit, who brought introspection out of Madonna in 1998's Ray of Light. "I'm a Sinner" even rings a sound similar to the Orbit/Madonna collaboration "Beautiful Stranger."

MDNA is good but not great as it could have been. It contains tracks that people will want to hear again but that won't stick with them. I give it three-and-a-half stars out of five.