slowdown and dance with.me.uk

BODY LANGUAGE — Kylie Minogue

Superbly understated

by Darryl Sterdan
Sun Media



"Come on and dance with me," purrs Kylie Minogue — only she's not talking about the disco, if you catch our drift.
Not that we would be surprised if you didn't — after all, next to the skankorama tawdriness of her dance-diva contemporaries, Kylie's slightly more stylish and mature brand of sensuality might seem a tad too subtle to be effective.

Trust us, though; it works just fine on her superbly understated new CD Body Language.

Moving away from the lighter, energetic disco-pop of her last few discs, Minogue lowers the lights a shade, takes it down a notch, slips into something comfortable and takes her time putting the moves on you on these 14 tracks.

As always, she keeps her approach simple: Most of these retro-dance party cuts are sparsely arranged around lightly percolating mid-tempo beatboxes, bouncy basslines and gently burbling synths.

None of it overpowers Kylie's limited but highly effective vocals, which move from husky propositions and erotic moaning to pop-diva trilling and — this time out — the occasional rap.

Minogue also seems to stretch her musical boundaries a bit here, flirting with everything from Prince-inspired electroclash (Still Standing) and funk (I Feel For You) to lurching teen-pop (Red Blooded Woman) and hip-hop (Cruise Control, one of the Canadian bonus tracks).

Through it all, though, Kylie never loses her cool or says anything she'll regret. Her Body Language does the talking for her.

Track Listings:

• 1. Slow
• 2. Still Standing
• 3. Secret (take you home)
• 4. Promises
• 5. Sweet Music
• 6. Red Blooded Woman
• 7. Chocolate
• 8. Obsession
• 9. I Feel For You
• 10. Someday
• 11. Loving Days
• 12. After Dark


Sun rating (out of 5 stars)

2004-02-18