KYLIE: Disco (BMG)
Verdict: Dancing queen returns
One of the more incongruous twists of 2020 has been the abundance of disco albums.
Since the start of lockdown, Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga have sought solace on the dancefloor, while Sophie Ellis-Bextor has provided online entertainment with live streams from her kitchen.
It was only a matter of time before pop’s most dedicated showgirl shone a spotlight on the mirrorball.
In calling her 15th album Disco, Kylie Minogue isn’t being too subtle about her intentions. It’s a record sequenced in the manner of a good night out, opening with slinky, mid-tempo grooves before gathering pace.
ADRIAN THRILLS: In calling her 15th album Disco, Kylie Minogue isn’t being too subtle about her intentions
It is, of course, a soundtrack to the night out no one in England will enjoy until at least December 2.
But far from making its retro-flavoured rhythms feel redundant, that absence adds a sense of nostalgia to tracks like Say Something (‘we’re a million miles apart in a thousand ways’) and Dance Floor Darling.
Completed in lockdown from her home studio, Disco is less introspective than 2018’s country-flavoured Golden.
It opens with Magic — a slow-burning pop-funk number about the excitement of new romance — and gains momentum on Real Groove, Kylie’s voice coated in auto-tune as she warns an errant lover that even a rival woman with ‘that perfect body’ can’t bust a move quite like she can.
There’s nothing original about Monday Blues, a song about living for the weekend, or Supernova, which depicts Kylie, 52, as an alien invader hellbent on having fun.
But, amid swirling disco strings, she retains the charm to pull off a kitsch conceit with typical pizzazz. That joie de vivre remains as the tempo rises.
The Prince-like Where Does The DJ Go? asks what happens to those behind the console when the decks fall silent.
It’s supposed to signify the night’s last dance, but could easily be a metaphor for lockdown.
Dance Floor Darling namechecks the fabled New York nightclub Studio 54 amid the kind of histrionic guitar solo that was a feature of disco standards such as Sheila & B. Devotion’s Spacer.
There are moments where Kylie’s 1970s and 1980s pastiches cry out for a fresher spin.
But it’s impossible not to be swept away by her enthusiasm — or a voice that has matured from the chipmunk squeak of old into something more supple.
On closing track Celebrate You, she signs off with a pep-talk to a pal in need. It’s hard to think of anyone better equipped to offer a pick-me-up.
ARIANA GRANDE:
Positions (Republic)
Verdict: Mellow but risqué R&B
Rating: 
Ariana Grande’s agile voice is one of the best in pop, but the American has erred on the side of under-singing since returning to music with 2018’s Sweetener. That was her first release since the Manchester Arena atrocity that killed 22 of her fans and, in keeping with her dignified response, the subsequent lack of showboating has been understandable.
A reflective stance hasn’t prevented her from being prolific. Positions is her fourth LP in two years, including live effort K Bye For Now, and it finds her cutting loose on occasions while retaining much of the mellow tranquillity of Sweetener and 2019’s Thank U, Next. Made in quarantine, it’s another slow-burner.
ADRIAN THRILLS: Grande, 27, is dating estate agent Dalton Gomez, and Positions is full of the joys of new love
Grande, 27, is dating estate agent Dalton Gomez, and Positions is full of the joys of new love. ‘I knew you were the real thing when you walked through that door,’ she sings on Obvious.
She goes further — much further — on 34+35, running through a string of suggestive metaphors that will dent her wholesome image before abandoning innuendo completely with an explicit aside. Parents of younger Arianators should approach this track with caution.
There’s a suspicion that the dirty talk is a distraction from a lack of new ideas, but that would be doing Grande a disservice.
It’s true that her slow R&B jams and cameos from rappers Doja Cat, The Weeknd and Ty Dolla $ign don’t move the musical dial. The funky Love Language is the album’s only moment of real urgency. But she remains a superb singer and era-defining star.
DAME SHIRLEY BASSEY:
I Owe It All To You (Decca)
Verdict: Dazzling in diamante
Rating: 
A trouper of a different vintage is also back with her first album in five years and — if you believe the hype — her ‘grand finale’.
Dame Shirley Bassey, 83, is in imperious form as she adds diamante sparkle to songs made famous by Queen, Liza Minnelli, Barry Manilow and Elvis Presley.
More daringly, she also tackles Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.
Produced by classical crossover stalwart Nick Patrick, and made with a socially distanced orchestra in the summer, I Owe It All To You reiterates her impeccable phrasing and power.
ADRIAN THRILLS: Dame Shirley Bassey, 83, is in imperious form
It begins with an overture, before Bassey delivers a pitch-perfect rendition of Queen’s Who Wants To Live Forever.
Freddie Mercury, a fan, would have loved it.
Amid schmaltzy show tunes plus two new originals, she also sings I Don’t Know What Love Is, a Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper duet.
It’s bombastic at times, though Elvis’s Always On My Mind is restrained and Beyoncé’s I Was Here a power ballad that could have been tailor-made for the great Dame.
Our biggest girl group mix it up with hits galore
LITTLE MIX: Confetti (RCA)
Verdict: A pop kaleidoscope
Rating:
Formed nine years ago on The X Factor, after entering as solo singers, Little Mix today release their sixth album — twice as many as the Spice Girls and one more than the five clocked up by Girls Aloud.
With BBC1 series The Search seeing them mentor fresh talent with a generous touch, their position as our biggest girl group is secure.
Confetti runs through a kaleidoscope of styles, including American R&B, Latin pop and widescreen balladry.
The first album since Perrie, Jesy, Leigh-Anne and Jade left Simon Cowell’s Syco label, it feels too generic at times, but the foursome’s bid for greater artistic sway is finally bearing fruit.
Five of Confetti’s 13 tracks have been drip-fed as singles. Driven by samba drums and electronics, Sweet Melody is an ear-worm on a par with signature tune Shout Out To My Ex.
The acoustic-based Not A Pop Song contains a cheeky dig at former Svengali Cowell: ‘I don’t do what Simon says, get the message ’cause it’s read.’
Away from the hits, there’s more personality.
Vocal harmonies aren’t subtle embellishments but gale-force flurries.
A Mess (Happy 4U) is a clattering pop tune, My Love Won’t Let You Down an adroit ballad and Breathe a forceful empowerment anthem.A.T.