Rule No. 1 of dance music: Without tension there is no release, without tension there is no release. Pop is many things, but also the modulation of this dynamic. The verse makes a promise, the chorus keeps it. A prime example of applying Rule #1: Kylie Minogue’s new song “Hold On To Now.” Synth arpeggios swirl in the depths, there is the hint of a bass, an electronic snare gets faster and faster, the synths get louder, the reverb rooms more epic, everything contracts, tenses, and then – the hook, exquisite Eurodance, four to the floor, a glorious, radiant fulfillment of the promise.
There’s a lot of great stuff on this record
There’s a lot that’s great on this record (the Weeknd-esque “Things We Do For Love,” the bass-heavy bouncy house of the title track), but it loses a little in the second half. The fact that the atmospheric heartland rock ballad “You Still Get Me High” accelerates to double time in the chorus for a dull “Whoa-oah” sing-along melody leaves you perplexed. Overall, Minogue shows herself to be stylish and adds another lively disco record to her feel-good oeuvre.
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