Kylie Minogue: Kiss Me Once

Kiss Me Once is pitched as a reboot for Kylie Minogue, her first album since splitting from her long-term manager last year and moving to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.

But it sounds like a holding pattern, keeping the Australian in touching distance of pop trends while failing to stamp her presence on them.

“Les Sex” borrows Daft Punk’s disco glitter while “I Was Going to Cancel” teams her with Pharrell Williams for slinky pop-funk with an annoying operatic backing vocal – the latter almost certainly not sung by Kylie, whose vocal prowess is better summed up by “Sexercise” where computer-processed vocals coo alongside politely grinding dubstep.

Despite the saucy titles – the 1980s pop throwback “Sexy Love” is another – there’s nothing especially camp or erotic about the music. It’s solid and unspectacular, a necessary pretext for a new world tour, where the real action lies for Minogue now.

Kylie Minogue

Kiss Me Once

(Parlophone)