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It’s a weird fact that Bionic, the fourth album from pop-diva Christina Aguilera, has caused some of the more sizable ripples in the musical world over the past year. Rumours of collaborations with some of the big electro-pop hit makers flew in from every direction. With names such as M.I.A., Sia Furler, Tricky, Switch, Le Tigre and Peaches making the final cut (with Ladytron’s sessions only appearing on the deluxe edition) Aguilera has well and truly pulled out all the stops to make sure Bionic re-establishes her place in the pop hierarchy.
In the four years that have passed since Back To Basics, the pop landscape has undergone a staggering metamorphosis. The revivalist movement has shifted from the 60s towards 80s electro pop and Stefani Germanotta is the biggest name in the business. Because of this, Aguilera decided to change tactic and, as established by some of the names she worked with, she intended for Bionic to be rather daring.
However, along the way Aguilera has fallen into many of her old traps which many had hoped she had left behind after completing Stripped. While it is great to observe that she has supreme artistic control over her output, the time has come for someone to just save her from stumbling into her own musical downfall. There are enough successfully orchestrated tracks on this to make Bionic a triumphant reinvention, but the sheer abundance of padding results in a seemingly average album. Ideally someone needs to re-edit the track listing after Aguilera gives her final approval which would lead to a shorter and more polished offering.
Her biggest assets are those pipes and the emotion she can convey using them. With those she has given some of the most mesmerising live performances ever broadcast on television. So we know that in order to hear her at the top of her game you need a dynamite ballad. But what we do not need are four in a row, the latter three of which sound incredibly similar. Because of this the third quarter of the album is a laboured listen, something which would be lessened by simply cherry-picking ‘Lift Me Up’ and ‘You Lost Me’ and ditching the other two. This way you keep the two best and most distinct ballads and both Linda Perry and Sia Furler to have their material included on the final cut.
People who are remotely interested will know that Aguilera has a young son but do we really need an interlude (‘My Heart’) containing him talking about his ‘mommy’? When such a brazen attempt to tug at the heartstrings appears on an album with overtly sexual tracks about both morning and oral sex (‘Sex for Breakfast’ and ‘Woohoo’ respectively) there is something a tad wrong. In fact it is when she decides to don her slut persona that Aguilera makes her biggest missteps. That is except for the ‘Love & Glamour’ intro where her pronunciation of ‘glamour’ with a faux-French accent is just criminal.
Negatives aside there are a number of great tracks (‘Elastic Love’, ‘Vanity’, ‘Not Myself Tonight’ and ‘Bionic’) present that makes Bionic a decent effort from the most gifted vocalist currently in work. However, with this comes a hollow disappointment, especially with the slamming collaboration with M.I.A., that this could have been so much more.
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