The album title that isn't a misnomer but part of a false cognate pop music has had for over 2 years regarding anything with a mirror ball in a music video as "disco".
For this series, I'll be going op-ed on those that like reading subjective criticism from a cynical bitch about an album released in 2020 that should be considered Album of the Year to the Grammys, American music publications and online music communities that want to get over the "Monday Blues" (Sure the line could've been "or anyone that wants to 'Say Something' nice" but then I would've had to say something nice about that mediocre at best lead single). This entry is dedicated to DISCO, the 15th studio album by the nicest pop goddess that people have heard of assuming the person talking about them is gay Kylie Minogue. Why does the 15th album by an Australian turned British queen people like need to be discussed? Get to know the songs and you'll find out.
Disco comes in a standard and deluxe format, with Spotify having the deluxe format with 16 tracks total which are:
1. "Magic"
2. "Miss a Thing"
3. "Real Groove"
4. "Monday Blues"
5. "Supernova"
6. "Say Something"
7. "Last Chance"
8. "I Love It"
9. "Where Does the DJ Go?"
10. "Dance Floor Darling"
11. "Unstoppable"
12. "Celebrate You"
13. "Till You Love Somebody"
14. "Fine Wine"
15. "Hey Lonely"
16. "Spotlight"
As with any major release from a pop act of late, the album yielded two singles and some album track tossed out as a "promotional" or "buzz" single (Apparently, the pop industry is so lazy they've taken the Valve strategy of "can't count to 3" a little too far.) The lead single for the album called Disco...was the very clearly 1980s synthpop sounding track "Say Something". Let me "say something" as this is a bad lead single. It makes sense on the album but any time "disco" is mentioned, it's as if no one either on the mic or on the soundboard knows what the fuck disco means. If one of the first things to come to mind is Donna Summers' heyday of the mid to late 70s, congratulations, you have a better understanding of the genre than current music professionals.
As mentioned earlier, the album title isn't a misnomer, but a false cognate (especially given the music video's interpretation of disco is just a reference to the outlandish shit that transpired at Studio 54). The disconnect between an 80s synthpop track on an album called "Disco" is something between disco, the genre of music and a discotheque, a venue in which disco or other club music can be played or performed in. Disco, along with the lead single of Miley Cyrus' Plastic Hearts album "Midnight Sky", Doja Cat's fifth single from her Hot Pink album "Say So", Katy Perry's attempt at a disco music video for the Smile track "Champagne Problems" and most of Dua Lipa's sophomore effort Future Nostalgia [most notably the music video for the very fucking clearly 80s synthwave inspired "Physical"] have been labeled as "disco".
Spelled out, the disconnect can seemingly be explained as, "Hey, we still really like ripping off the 80s but people are wanting disco for some reason. I think disco didn't quite die until like 1983 so let's just shill synthpop with the disco name on it and have a mirror ball in the video."
The second single from the album [and a massive step forward] was "Magic", which gave her a Top 10 in Scotland but a 57th Top 75 in the UK (The UK is far far more forgiving of pop divas of a certain career span or the charts to look this up are than in the US.) and even saw a remix from Purple Disco Machine [who by 2020 had scored a #1 on the Dance Club Songs chart in January 2019 over a Fatboy Slim remix and remixed Lady Gaga's second single from Chromatica, "Rain on Me".] The song itself still feels slightly more 1981 than 1978, but it does have more of bouncy disco feel that makes sense as a single and more effectively as the opener on the album.
As for "I Love It", the third collective song tossed out there in the name of "promo" or more like "Pop can't count to 3"? Personally, it sure does sound like a "track 8" on an album but I mean, it has its fans (And come Chromatica this is gonna be applied at that album's attempt at a third single, just you wait.)
Disco would debut at #1, giving Kylie Minogue her 8th #1 album in the UK and a chart achievement as she became the first female artist to score a Number 1 on the UK’s Official Albums Chart in five consecutive decades, following Kylie (1988), Enjoy Yourself (1989), Greatest Hits (1992), Fever (2001), Aphrodite (2010), Golden (2018) and Step Back In Time: The Definitive Collection (2019). As for what has Disco end up being an album of the year, it relates to what made Melanie C a triumph: it was a dance album made by someone with years of experience releasing it just because they wanted to with mostly high points.
No one expects a dance diva to last beyond 3 albums at the most; no one expects most pop divas to survive beyond maybe 4 albums. The fact that Kylie Minogue has survived to 15 albums [her contemporary Madonna reaching 14 last year] is astounding. What has this album stand out is that it's a well respected dance diva having fun regardless of singles being paid [and certified] dust. Granted, most listeners can ask answer the same questions: does Disco challenge Minogue artistically? [no] Is Disco that reminiscent of the 1970s? [no] Is Disco the most cohesive album to Minogue's name since Fever or Aphrodite? [yes] Should clubs being playing this album once the COVID-19 pandemic is over and humanity is safe? [yes, yes, 1,000 times yes]
In short, Disco was a 2020 release from a "Dance Floor Darling" that did its best to get listeners through "Monday Blues".
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: "Miss a Thing", "Monday Blues", "Supernova" and "Dance Floor Darling".
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