Kylie Minogue - Body Language

Kylie Minogue has been delivering quality and experimental dance-pop for more than 16 years now, and in her many incarnations (late-'80s pop tart, mid-'90s alt-popper, intergalactic disco goddess in the aughts) she has always been responsible for records where technology and good songwriting intersected magnificently.

Body Language, her ninth studio album, exists as a playground for U.S. R&B and hip-hop, eurodance, L.A. electroclash, Parisian filter disco and Swedish pop to hang out and make some magic. Initial single "Slow" is sultry and kinda retro while still squarely in the moment; blippy and avant-garde, yet relentless in old-school Casio rhythm and in incessant catchiness. "Chocolate" could be a smash, a sensual quiet storm of passion that vibes perfectly with U.S. pop radio, while "Secret" drops in a refrain from Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force's "I Wonder If I Take You Home" that conducts a dance-pop dialogue across almost 20 years.

If pop music were like Iron Chef, the stunning "Red Blooded Woman" would be the result of Timbaland versus Max Martin if the secret ingredient were Frank Yankovic samples.

"I Feel For You" is funky (not a Chaka Khan/Prince cover), and calls forth favorable comparisons to Cox 6 and Stardust. "Still Standing" is one of the finest tracks on the record, delivering a chorus so ridiculously catchy that to try and resist it is futile.

Most of Body Language feels like it could fit right onto U.S. radio playlists, but that kind of adventurous spirit seems lacking in corporate-controlled radio culture, which is a shame. Kylie makes pop music for the friendly world we wish that we lived in.