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Oct 21, 2024This collection of (mostly) new songs stands strong on its own. The record is tighter yet bolder, sexier yet sadder, as icy, electropop siren Kylie once again leaves it all on the dancefloor.
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Oct 18, 2024Tension II feels bolder, tougher and more inventive than its predecessor, while still flowing directly from the same fun and fizzy vibe.
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Oct 18, 2024The sharp craft of Tension II confirms that this is Kylie Minogue’s world, we’re just fortunate enough to live in it.
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Oct 31, 2024Even though Minogue is fabulous as an electropop diva, as evident on albums like Disco and Tension, she excels at 1980s-inspired synthpop, allowing her swooning emotion to shine through. These quibbles are minor, however, because Tension II is a fantastic work of pop art.
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Oct 21, 2024Tension II is what happens when the party is refusing to quiet down, the revelers won’t say goodnight, so the DJ/hostess/belle decides to just let the festivities roll on.
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Oct 18, 2024For fans craving more of Kylie's excellent early-2020s output, Tension II delivers, even when it pales next to more immediate cuts on Disco and the first Tension.
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Oct 18, 2024‘Tension II’ is embedded in Kylie’s more up-front pop tendencies. That’s no bad thing – she’s the best around, after all – but it does make the project feel a little slim in places.
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Oct 18, 2024The new album, which could have easily been called More Tension, is Minogue’s most shamelessly ingratiating collection of dance-pop songs since 2010’s Aphrodite—maybe even 2001’s Fever.
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Nov 6, 2024Tension II is a fun continuation of what has been Kylie’s renaissance since 2020’s Disco album. It is not wholly without flaws as stated above but still manages to solidify that Kylie will always be someone we just can’t get out of our heads.
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Oct 21, 2024Yet even if it does run out of steam a bit towards the end, there’s enough on Tension II to cement Kylie’s reputation as the Queen of Pop. Whether it would have worked better as an EP is debatable, but it complements its predecessor nicely without ever quite overshadowing it.
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Oct 18, 2024It is arguably a better collection than the original Tension but lacks wow factor and a solid gold banger. It’s good enough to keep the Kylie show on the road, though. So release the tension, enjoy the ride.
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Oct 21, 2024Tension II is sometimes sparky and sometimes gratifying, but for the most part it fails to recreate the highs of its predecessor, instead choosing to replicate the animating ideas of Padam Padam – anonymous, sledgehammer-subtle Eurotrash beats; nonsensical vocal hooks; self-aware attempts at camp – over and over, until those ideas have all been worn down to nothing.