Strange to think that Kylie Minogue was once sneeringly dismissed as a cut-price Madonna. These days it's Madge who seems past her sell-by date, while the former Neighbours actress just keeps going from strength to strength. Her ninth album is a worthy successor to 2001's smash hit Fever, a supremely danceable collection of electro-pop songs that's clearly in thrall to the 80s - but, crucially, has managed to raid all the best bits from that much-maligned decade. Not that Kylie can take all the credit, of course, with the small army of songwriters here including such familiar names as Ms Dynamite, Scritti Politti's Green Gartside and Karen Poole of Alisha's Attic. It's her vocals that really make the album, however, ranging from sex-kitten breathiness to a gravely rasp, even lapsing into rap at one point without too much embarrassment. Body Language won't revolutionise pop music - but it should certainly prove once and for all that there's more to Kylie than a dodgy soap and a cute backside.
