Go and buy the next Kylie single
My favourite pop song this year is called “Made Of Glass”, and it’s by Kylie Minogue. I hoped slightly that it would end up being by someone else – it was being touted around Rachel Stevens among others – because icon or not I’m no fan of Kylie’s voice. But Minogue it is. Luckily it’s not a tune that requires a good deal of range but even so Kylie still sounds a bit like a chipmunk on it.
So hold on, why is it my favourite, then? Because there’s something utterly enticing about it, and (even rarer, this) a sense of mystery too. Kylie breathes it like she’s telling us soemthing that she felt in a dream. The song – it’s short, under three minutes – turns on a whispered half-rap, “bohemian boys and Brazilian girls….”, flashing past like an overheard secret. If? When? Why? What?
The music too has that slightly cryptic quality you get with the best motorik, like you could listen to it all day and still not…quite… – not surprising as it sounds like a New Order track (it’s mostly the lovely bassline) and New Order have always been good at teasing and intriguing. Three New Order singles are on their way to the shops right now, and the one with “New Order” on the disc is easily the worst. “Made Of Glass” is New Order if they, well, if they were called Xenomania and wrote songs for Kylie. Sorry, not all comparisons are helpful. I love this record.