Review: Madonna - MDNA

1. Girl Gone Wild
2. Gang Bang
3. I’m Addicted
4. Turn Up the Radio
5. Give Me All Your Luvin’ (feat. Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.)
6. Some Girls
7. Superstar
8. I Don’t Give A (feat. Nicki Minaj)
9. I’m a Sinner
10. Love Spent
11. Masterpiece
12. Falling Free

Hey 2012, Madonna is back and she wants you to know that she is a sinner, a girl-gone-wild and apparently doesn’t give a ____? (Not even enough to say what it is exactly she does not give any of). MDNA, her twelfth studio album, is a solid record, but it is slightly let down by a sense that the Queen of Pop is trying way too hard.

There is the Catholic prayer intro of the opener and recent single “Girl Gone Wild” which comes off like Madonna trying to out-GaGa GaGa’s imitation of Madonna. The ickily titled “Gang Bang” (whose lyrics thankfully have nothing to do with the name) with Madonna trying to bolster her badass quotient by bragging about shooting her lover in the head and shouting “Drive, bitch! And while you’re at it, die, bitch!” interspersed with a very forced-sounding WUB-WUB-WUB-WUB-WUB-WUB break down. Then there are the painfully unsubtle MDMA references (including a chant) on “I’m Addicted.” It’s like Madonna spends so much of the album desperately trying to convince us, “See? I’m still cool! I take ecstasy! I’ve heard of dubstep! I hang out with Nicki Minaj!” that it’s almost too easy to get caught up in this and miss just how solid an album it is underneath all the posing.

The biggest standouts are the singles, “Girl Gone Wild” and “Give Me All Your Luvin’” which both stick in one’s head like glue (although cheerleader chants in songs will never not be obnoxious). Both have a kind of immediacy and simplicity which is frankly refreshing.

Other tracks soon emerge from the disc’s shimmering, pulsing mass. “Turn Up the Radio” is melodic and sweet. “Some Girls” is built on a nice tension between the aggressive verses and the sing-songy chorus which it gives way to. The songs begin to blur a bit more in the second half but “Love Spent” is another treat, with its echoes of “Gimme Gimme Gimme” by way of “Hung Up” and electric banjo flourishes. The effect is not unlikeBelarus’ 2011 Eurovision entry (look it up!) which, I admit, is something I never thought I’d be comparing to a Madonna song.

The album rounds out with two sweet ballads featuring fantastic vocal performances, some of the best of Madonna’s career. “Masterpiece” is a vulnerable love song. “Falling Free” sounds out of place at first, foregoing drums entirely (on an album defined by pounding beats) and opting for a folk-pop, orchestral style. The pair is, however, a perfect ending for the album, giving it an emotional arc and a sense of depth it would not otherwise have.

MDNA is hardly a guilty pleasure, though a somewhat troublesome and problematic one. Madonna is one of the most important figures of the pop landscape, one who can’t be ignored and will simply never become irrelevant, no matter how many missteps she makes. That is one of the reasons why it’s a bit sad to see her reaching the way she does. But, hell, even David Bowie had his 90’s Industrial and Drum n’ Bass bandwagon albums. And, of course, when the alternative is caring too little or taking one’s fans for granted, one just can’t help but feel grateful.