Kylie Minogue, Aphrodite (Parlaphone)

Aspiring divas, take note: THIS is how an icon gets made. Kylie Minogue has been running game on the music industry since the tender age of 19 with her 1987 debut single, “Locomotion.” Often saddled with the tag of “the Madonna of Europe,” Ms. Minogue could actually teach Ms. Ciccone quite a bit about maintaining credibility and sales numbers over a long musical career. Never afraid to tackle new sounds, Kylie’s secret weapon is that she’s never compromised good songs for a fleeting trend. Like contemporaries the Pet Shop Boys, quality songs have always kept her lifted above the fray of your garden-variety dance act. With Stuart Price as her executive producer, Kylie Minogue has crafted one of the finest full-lengths of her illustrious career, if not her magnum opus. Fully stocked with an arsenal of top-flight dance-pop anthems, APHRODITE doesn’t flag for a moment. From the emo-disco one-two punch of “All The Lovers” and “Get Outta My Way” through the Daft Punk-like power of “Can’t Beat the Feeling,” APHRODITE is the party-positive summer dance album that will stay hot well into the winter months and beyond.

(Originally published on Shockhound.com)