Hi, everyone. Voguethony Outtano here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new Madonna album, Confessions II.

Madonna is back with her 15th studio album, Confessions II, the sequel to 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor, and her first full-length since Madame X in 2019. Now, Madonna is, of course, a game-changing pop icon who is in no need of an introduction, or at least much of one. But if you so happen to be new to her, she is the best-selling solo female artist of all time ever, and pretty much the blueprint, the archetype for female pop stars as we know them. She has had 12 #1 singles, has won seven Grammys, and a ton of other awards, too. She's also a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, as well as an actress, an author, a filmmaker.

But most importantly, multiple musical evolutions across her career have proven to be highly influential, as we're still seeing the ripples of these projects today on many new albums. Maybe the most recent example being the many ways that we have seen the classic Ray of Light album copied by numerous singers and DJs who are really trying to bring those late '90s / Y2K dancefloor vibes back. And you could also say with very little argument that the original Confessions was a landmark dance album for its time too, and an important touchstone for Madonna torchbearers like Lady Gaga, who would break through just years later. Which is hard to ignore, listening back to highlights like "Sorry," not to mention anthemic singles like "Hung Up," which over the years have aged like fine wine.

And Madonna is nothing if not aware of her legacy. She knows how groundbreaking and well-crafted a lot of her albums are, and which ones have proven to be the most impactful. And with that, she's bringing back the essence of that classic Confessions era, and of course bringing on one of that record's most important collaborators at the time, Mr. Stuart Price. Apparently him and Madonna reconnected during the Celebration Tour in 2023, and rediscovered their love of working together. And Stuart isn't just helping Madonna craft a sequel here, but make an album that functions as a bit of an oasis, a distraction and sanctuary from the craziness and harshness of the current world, as well as a place for Madonna to process the recent losses of her brother and stepmother.

Now, just like the original Confessions LP, this album is also very much structured like a DJ set, with multiple tracks kind of flowing into each other seamlessly, building momentum off of each other as well. And lyrically, Madonna is very much exploring themes around the current state of the world, escapism, and the dance floor itself as an abstract, as a concept. I mean, that is kind of the main theme of the opening track and lead single, "I Feel So Free," which, in my opinion, is kind of a rough introduction to the album, and might just be my least favorite track.

It's one of the few songs on this record that feels like it's maybe trying just a bit too hard to revisit this era. Its spacey dance beats and spoken word passages, in my opinion, are painfully on the nose, just doing too much to over-explain the purpose of this album, rather than just simply doing it. Plus, these spoken word sections, the performance of them is, to me, just painfully awkward. And kind of sounds the way that it feels to have somebody trying to very loudly tell you a secret right up to your face, after they've downed about four vodka waters, of course.

So, yeah, an odd start to the record, for sure, and it's not helping that Madge's vocals are sounding maybe just a bit too buried and stiff. Very over-processed and sterile, too, in a way that is just off-putting, which I'd also say is the case for the following "Good for the Soul," to an extent, too. Thankfully, though, there's nothing really kind of getting in the song's way this time around, structurally. It's just kind of doing what it's doing, melodically and rhythmically. But I would be lying if I said that this song left much of an impression on me. It feels less like a revitalization of the Confessions era and more like a forgotten piece of indie bloghouse pap that was ripping off that sound maybe three or four years later.

That being said, though, I think the progression of this record and its production quality picks up on the third track, "One Step Away." The intro of the song contains a very minor statement on dance music itself. Tasteful, brief, to the point. And what we have is a super hypnotic house beat on this one with some jittery, stuttering, airy tones and keys that I love. And Madonna's vocals, by contrast, are actually sounding very elegant and intimate and upfront here. There's something about this song that simultaneously feels very visceral and groovy, but then also enchanting and meditative as well. It's like all of it's happening in the dance floor of my mind.

Then we have a flawless transition into "Bring Your Love," with, of course, Sabrina Carpenter. I think this track is one of the stronger singles off of this record. It's some classy dance pop with crisp snares, some filter, deep house kicks and keys. In some ways, the track is catwalk perfection for sure, but the more I listen to it, the more I can't help but feel like there is some lost potential here. Especially given that, historically, Sabrina is such a witty and funny personality, and Madonna didn't really take advantage of that to kind of inject some humor or some of the campy vibes of the original Confessions, which kind of kept the overall listening experience of that record very light and fun. I mean, again, the song here is fine, but the collab chemistry is not really off the charts.

After this, Madonna goes into some interesting style switches and concept tracks. There's "Danceteria," which is a super cute retrospective. Contains, again, more spoken word passages that I think the performance of could have been a little bit more lively and expressive, considering how funny some of the details are: "Then I see Mark Kamins is the DJ / He's the DJ, hide the cocaine." But for the most part, this track functions as a big trip down memory lane for Madonna, not just in terms of her in the music industry, but just her personal love of dance music and multiple signature artists and eras for the style. Name-dropping bands like The B-52s, and also kind of working with her collaborators to do this multi-bar rehash of a classic Daft Punk break.

Then, "Read My Lips" is a cut that has a little bit of a Latin twist. But while this foray, I think, is well-intentioned, the production is very muted and flavorless. At least the vocals aren't quite as robotic as they are on some other tracks here, but they're not enough to, I think, save this song overall. It's merely just fine. Then, the track "Everything," I think, spiritually is encouraging everyone to, go outside, touch some grass, do some coke in the club. The tone of it overall is maybe just a bit too grave, in my opinion. But if this record's intention is to encourage togetherness and the communal energy of the dance floor, then it makes sense that Madonna would do a track or create a moment where she is trying to call out the increased sense of social isolation that there's been over the past 20 years, even if those "I don't fuck with it" drops are maybe just a little too awkward and forced.

Following this, though, I do think this record really hits a stride. Maybe not in terms of songwriting or dazzling vocal performances, but more a mix of good transitions, grooves, and tasteful retrospective ideas that will keep the dance floor moving. Whether it be "Love Sensation," which is a super solid house number, or "Love Without Words," which is a really cool piece of Y2K-era diva pop that, honestly, sounds like silver parachute pants, a slick-back bun, big shield mirror sunglasses, and a baby tee, with some searing EDM-style synth leads around the midpoint.

There's also "School," which, for my taste, is maybe a little bit too heady and cerebral at points but I can see what it's going for, even if with Confessions II overall I was hoping for a listen that wasn't quite so gloomy and heavy at points. As far as a more cerebral dance odyssey vibe goes, I much prefer "Fragile," whose lyrics have a very existentialist, Ray of Light kind of energy emanating off of them, but I think are now presented in a more eerie, bittersweet, otherworldly fashion. Not just simply heavenly, but almost a reckoning with all this pain and turmoil and heartbreak that Madonna has dealt with over her years.

The final leg of this record, for the most part, is a cool-down moment. We have "My Sins Are My Savior" with Stromae, which sees things going into a bit of a trip-hop direction. Really brings back the classic energy of that genre in a way that is super tasteful. Maybe the best collaboration on the album, honestly, which I was kind of surprised by. And, in a way, this track is bringing back Erotica vibes in a big way, which is great but also kind of presents an idea or a concept for this album that I was hoping to get going into it. In that Madonna and contemporary dance music have been inextricably linked for a really long time, and something like Confessions II would have been a great chance to kind of go over all of those different classic styles of dance music that she's either impacted or dabbled in pretty heavily over the years.

And as solid as this album is overall, much better than Madonna's last several projects for sure, it doesn't quite cover all of those bases. Even if it does address a great deal of them. The song "Betrayal" also feels like another helping of trip-hop, but one that runs a little bit more like a ballad with some great embellishments that are quite jazzy. From the keys and horns, probably the most intimate and emotional vocal performance Madonna brings to this record too.

"The Test" featuring Madonna's daughter, Lola Leon, I think is another merely passable moment. Again, my least favorite track on the record consistently being that intro, that opener. After that, I feel like it's all kind of up from there with a mix of tracks that range from okay to great. And the closer "L.E.S. Girl," while instrumentally and structurally is one of the more kind of low-key and inconspicuous moments on the album, it is a rare moment where Madonna is getting super sentimental and nostalgic. Really getting in her feelings for a little bit about a bygone era of her life, which, after so many classic, massive, influential records, is a point that she has most definitely earned here.

But yeah, again, overall my feelings on Confessions II are pretty positive. Does it stand up in terms of overall quality to the original Confessions on a Dance Floor? No. But it is quite a bit better than pretty much every album Madonna has dropped since that record. So, at the very least, in that sense, it is a decent follow-up. It is a respectable sequel.

There are points where I think some of the production or song ideas could have been a bit more strong or memorable. But as far as a modern ode to the dance floor goes, Confessions II is an admirable effort. And it speaks to Madonna's artistry, talent, and self-awareness. That she could go into a record with that intention at this stage in her career and come through with something this enjoyable. Which is why I'm feeling a light to decent 7 on this album.

Anthony Fantano. Madonna. Forever.