Dannii Minogue - Neon Nights

Here is the dilemna - do I write about this album as a critic and make the obvious comparisons to her sister's genre-defying American breakthrough? Or do I approach "Neon Nights" as the average American who never had the pleasure of dancing to "All I Wanna Do," "This is It," and "Disremberance." Ok - let's go schizo!

The album starts out amazingly with the massive club hits "Put the Needle On It" and "I Begin to Wonder," but then wanders into a murky area of 80's throwback-inspired retreads. "For the Record" comes out smelling like a rose with Dannii channelling her inner Cathy Dennis (can we get some remixes please?) but there is no excuse for the tired, uninspired waste of space that is "Push." Working with the Trouser Enthusiasts, you shouldn't be so desperate as to rely on Laid Back's "White Horse" for a song; it didn't help Monifah either...

The album continues along muddily until her career-reviving hit with Riva "Who Do You Love Now." It makes you begin to wonder whether adding vocals to a proven trance hit or revocalizing an already smash europop hit justifies a multi-hundred thousand pound recording contract.

With pop stars coming off the assembly line (aka TV) at an alarming rate, does Dannii have the charm to outshine the competition?

My inner soul says "yes" because when you put the CD in your computer and watch Dannii in her striking music videos, the third dimension of Minogue shows why she is a popstar, shining above a few mediocre records by being able to nail some genre-defining popvideos. If you could bottle what was in the Minogue genes, you could tell Miss Cowell to sod off...