Madonna, over nearly three decades of Re-Invention, Blond Ambition, and Causing a Commotion, had proved untouchable when it came to pushing buttons – whether she targeted society, sexuality, or spirituality. Yet the past ten years saw her lose touch, in spite of her bids for relevance.
It’s not completely her fault; after all, Madonna has matured within a youth-obsessed industry. But since 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna’s records have become less shocking and more of a slog – unquestionably not without shining moments, but no “Lucky Star.” 2008’s Hard Candy and 2012’s MDNA, which produced no memorable singles, left Madonna open to criticism of hiding behind cheap tactics.
Yet behind all of those theatrics, who is Madonna really without the personas she’s created: Madonna as Queen of Pop, Madonna who wears a Jean Paul Gaultier-designed cone bra, Madonna as diamond-loving Material Girl, Madonna the femme fatale whose frank, forthright sexual provocations have been met with misogynist double standards both by the Holy Pope as well as Hollywood?
Or Madonna as Virgin, a sacred icon turned profane, the hallowed made hollowed, singing, “touched for the very first time”? Still, take away the controversial headlines or agitprop marketing, and Madonna’s true power comes across in her songs, which need no scaffolding to support them.
However much she may have strayed from that strength of late, Rebel Heart, her thirteenth studio album (which features a large posse of top producers, including Diplo and Ariel Rechtshaid), is Madonna’s most direct since 2000’s Music, with fourteen tracks that rank among her most honest, naked, and vulnerable statements of purpose: an immaculate collection.
This struck many as miraculous, as the lead-up to Rebel Heart’s release courted public outrage, sadly promising something makeshift and facile. But Rebel Heart arrives as a pleasant surprise, and despite the artist’s iconic stature, the album feels fresh and finally (!), relatable. All that, despite being leaked early, albeit in an unfinished, demo state.
To say she was not pleased that her incomplete Rebel Heart had been unleashed this way – Madonna compared the leak to terrorism and rape – is an understatement to the nth degree, but Madonna’s campaign behind Rebel Heart seems not to have suffered any with or without it, what with Snapchat music videos, Instagram photos, and falling at the BRIT Awards. She’s blurred the line between droll and troll.
Rebel Heart anchors itself in the retrospective psychology of breakups: examining past mistakes and regrets, seeking lysergic relief, reasserting one’s voice. Sonically, the record looks both in the rearview – on “Veni Vidi Vici,” Madonna catalogues her past hits over an uptempo beat until she’s cut short by an unexpected guest, the similarly divorced rapper Nas – and to the future, on dance-pop tracks that are particularly inspired.
For example, “Bitch I’m Madonna” brings together Sophie, Nicki Minaj, Diplo, and Madonna and goes hard. It starts off basic enough but ends up in WTF territory, with Diplo’s production distorting the song’s momentum and Nicki’s verse injecting a short-lived but frenzied mania into the veritable club banger: “I’m bossed up; I got ‘em awestruck/ It’s not a toss-up; I’m the winner.”
Sure “Bitch I’m Madonna” may be over-the-top and slightly cheesy, but it’s also an undeniable triumph and embodiment of all that Madonna stands for, and we needed reminding. After phoning it in for too long, it’s uplifting to hear this anthem. On the other side of the coin is the rebel’s heart, “Joan of Arc,” a plaintive, revelatory ballad: Madonna’s public life is the subject of this acoustic guitar-led track (an increasing rarity for Madonna), with lyrics like “One little lie can ruin my day” making clear that fame doesn’t make one immune to pain: “Words are like weapons.”
For the most part though, these moments of melancholy are fleeting and balanced by Madonna’s playful ‘poetry’ (for example, “Illuminati”: “Nothing to hide, secrets in sight/ It’s like everybody in this party shining like Illuminati”). Madonna’s not afraid of going for broke and shows as much by including retired boxer Mike Tyson doing his ‘spoken word’ on “Iconic” alongside Chance the Rapper’s flow, making for 2015’s oddest couple.
But Rebel Heart is nothing if not weird, at least for mainstream pop: EDM drops, synth stabs, pitch-shifted voices, and Kanye West. Madonna never had any trouble choosing her collaborators, but her recent albums sounded stale; lead single “Living for Love,” with insistent Diplo beat, announced that this era might be a thing of the past, which was soon confirmed when the rest of the record came out.
Within Madonna’s repertoire, Rebel Heart most recalls American Life, both in its blend of pop pleasure with acoustic gravitas and in its mix of rebellion with reflection. Rebel Heart revisits these themes over a decade later and brings both the wisdom of maturity and the pain of divorce to the subjects, with Madonna in complete control of Rebel Heart’s vision from the start (“…watched me stumble/ After the heartache, I’m gonna carry on.”) if not the way it has been received by her fans or the public at large, but that’s to be expected.
After all, Madonna didn’t become a groundbreaking musical icon without taking some hits along the way, and Rebel Heart acknowledges this. “Body Shop” uses her hometown of Detroit’s automotive industry (“You can polish the headlights/ You can smooth out the fender.”) as metaphor for creative repair as well as (what else?) sexual congress.
That’s Madonna for you. “I wanna know what you’re all about/ You’re beautiful when you’re broken down/ Let your walls crumble to the ground,” she sings on the track “Inside Out.” With Rebel Heart she flits between world domination through the body politic and a baring of the soul behind all those walls.
“Every scar that you try to hide/ All the dark corners of your mind/ Show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” Madonna implores us, as if she’s meeting us halfway. These lyrics contain a slight air of condescension, but they also hold the tiniest modicum of humanity, which has always been the key ingredient in keeping us loyal to the Queen of Pop. After going astray for so long, it feels good to have her back.
Madonna will bring her Rebel Heart tour to the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on October 1. Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 30 at 10 a.m. Find out more information here. Listen to Rebel Heart below: