Madonna is back with some new material after a seven year break, and the recent release of “I Feel so Free,” has many fans looking forward to this new era in her career.
“Confessions II” will be her 15th studio album and has a release date for July 3 by Warner Brothers Record. This time around Madonna isn’t exploring a new style, she’s revisiting a sound that is innovative, high energy and dance floor driven.
“Confessions II” is a follow up to her 2005 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album. Madonna decided to collaborate with the same producer, Stuart Price, who mastered that modern disco and dance sound for “Confessions on a Dance Floor.” That was considered to be one of her strongest works in her career due to its cohesive concept, groundbreaking production with each track seamlessly transitioning into each other and infectious beats all leading to its critical commercial success worldwide at that time.
The release of “I Feel So Free,” gives us a crystal clear view of what this new era will be. The song provides an early ’90s house sound, with steady beats and a slow build up compared to your average pop song with the production coming off patient and very spiritual. In addition, throughout the track there are obvious inspirations of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” from 1977, a song that is widely credited as a pioneer in electronic dance music with Madonna’s seductive vocals that are reminiscent of her highly controversial “Erotica” single from 1992, due to its explicit themes and music video imagery.
There seems to be a feeling that this new era will be more than just music, but a way for fans to obtain a sense of freedom and self-expression. There are speculations of a supporting tour in the near future — but no dates have been made official. With her recent Coachella surprise visit during Sabrina Carpenter’s set, and the announcement on April 27, that the “Bring Your Love” collaboration will be the lead single, you can sense Madonna is ready to perform again. For an entertainer who is renowned at putting on a live production, a comeback to the stage could be as important as this new album.
I think not everyone will be convinced of the new material. People will correlate her new album to the past records and may find it lacking. That is definitely expected for someone who has been around for decades. Madonna is not trying to recreate the past, but build on it … that’s for sure.
With this new era, Madonna seems to know that a lot of artists tend to have a hard time with knowing when to evolve and when to come back to what works. “Confessions II” may not take over the Billboard Hot 100, but it reminds us why she mattered in the beginning, and still does.
