Kylie Minogue, aka the planet's preferred petite popstrel, is back with her first album of new material (her tenth overall, hence the token Roman numeral) since 2003's Body Language. The diminutive diva has had a rough few years; despite re-launching her career with a sonic boom, a pair of gold hotpants and a million-selling album in 2000's Light Years, Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. Now thankfully free of the disease, she's managed to reconvene her lost momentum and has obviously been doing her homework during her forced hiatus, if X is anything to go by. An album that's largely free of references to her recent experiences (apart from perhaps one or two tracks), X is a slick, sexy slice of contemporary electro-pop that's about as enjoyable as pop music gets these days. Production is notably glossy but never overdone; nods to the likes of Timbaland (Nu-Di-Ty), Xenomania (In My Arms, Sensitized) and The Neptunes (Heart Beat Rock) provide apt references points, while '80s-hued club anthem nostalgia (The One) and the dance-carnival vibe of the brilliant Wow are both worked to great effect. There are also several tracks that make one wonder how things may have turned out if a certain Ms. Spears had gotten hold of them (the fierce electro-buzz of Like A Drug, for example). However, that point also sparks a debate: is there any individuality in pop music anymore, or is it just a matter of who has the best songwriting team available to them? Minogue takes no outrageous risks with X, but she's probably one of the few old-school pop stars that is successfully modifying their style to roll with the times.

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