“Padam Padam,” the lead single on Kylie Minogue’s newest album Tension, is the artist’s most popular song in a decade. With nearly 80 million streams on Spotify, the song earned Minogue her first-ever top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
This song has played in my head since I first heard it, and I ended up embodying the confidence Minogue exudes in this track. The lyrics are genius; Minogue cleverly mimics the sound of a heartbeat by singing “padam padam.”
According to Genius contributors, many consider “Padam Padam” as Minogue’s most risque song yet. She sings confidently, as if already knowing the person she’s singing to is enamored with her.
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Minogue released her album’s title track, “Tension,” as a second single after “Padam Padam.” In the title track, she sings about the tension she wants to dissolve between her and a lover. The song flows well and features a robotic voice in the extremely catchy chorus, a musical feat Minogue has mastered.
The 14-track, deluxe Tension album followed the two singles and was released on Sept. 22. It encapsulates the electric sound that Minogue is known for throughout her discography.
Pitchfork described “Tension” as an album that consists of Minogue’s usual favored themes of romance and sexual desire, rather than a body of work with a unifying concept. The album is a classic Minogue record with elements of synth-pop and EDM.
A stand out track is “Things We Do For Love.” In it, Minogue uses 80’s synth notes to back up her falsetto voice, asking her love interest how he plans to reciprocate her affection. The song’s 80s dance energy is featured in many of her previous hits and is a sound that the artist is clearly comfortable with.
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“You Still Get Me High” slowly builds into an anthemic synth chorus. Minogue expresses how she is breaking rules with her lover and questioning if this action is bringing them closer or pushing them further away from her. The song is represents complex emotions that go beyond a typical love song and marks a great addition to the album.
Tension concludes with “Somebody To Love,” a more relaxed song about letting one’s guard down and allowing love to bloom between strangers. This was my third favorite song on the album because of its calmness, impressive vocals and well-thought-out lyrics. Overall, this album seemed like a casual listen rather than a conceptual one. Minogue’s previous work has more of a diverse range, but I still feel she can’t release a bad album.
