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Kylie Minogue - 'In My Arms'

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Fraser McAlpine | 09:49 UK time, Thursday, 1 May 2008

Kylie MinogueI'll be honest. The idea of reviewing another of Kylie's comeback singles was not a major motivating factor in my getting out of bed today. 'Two Hearts' was alright, in a post-Outkast, post-Goldfrapp kind of way, but it seemed to cause a rift in Kylie's traditional fanbase. Then there was 'Wow'. A song which had the exact opposite effect. Hardcore fans were delighted, people who no longer take sugar in their tea found it a bit much. And now there's this.

I like the white noise hi-hat thing at the beginning, although I could live without the spoken word bits - much like I could live without having to live on a diet of drawing pins - with the exception of the amazing "OH!" which kicks things off properly.

But the song itself seems to hold together better than 'Wow' did. In that it is actually a song, and not a patchwork quilt made entirely of hooks (musical hooks, not real ones. That would be chainmail). And you can't beat a bit of classic '80s electro synth.

That's the genre 'electro' there, obviously. There aren't that many acoustic synths out there, or synths which run off clockwork and are amplified by shouty mice. Nor are there electro synths from any other decade than the '80s, because the '80s is the decade in which that genre flourished and then died.

Oh sure 'died' is a harsh word to use. I mean the sound of electro fed into the acid house/techno thing later on, and has had a massive resurgence nowawadays too, but by then the instruments they used had changed and mutated to such a degree that you wouldn't have called the sounds electro any more.

You can call them it now, but that's because it's a retro, old skool kinda thing, and not a picking up of the electro baton and running with it.

Anyway, good song, Kylie. It was worth getting up after all!

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE: If you see an electro baton on the floor, don't pick it up, unless you are sure it's not plugged in. And even if it isn't, don't run with it, in case you trip. OK?

Four starsDownload: Out now
CD Released: May 5th


(Fraser McAlpine)

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