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Madonna – ‘Confessions II’ review: Queen Of Pop digs deep on thrilling return to the dancefloor
On her most vital album in over two decades, pop music’s grande dame proves she still knows how to make us move
by Nick Levine · NMEMadonna has been called the “Queen Of Pop” since the mid-’80s, and for good reason; it suits her regal demeanour as well as her pre-eminent place on the musical landscape. But only in recent years has she seemed comfortable as a legacy-curating grande dame. First, she tried to tell her origin story in a Hollywood biopic that has since been shelved. Then, she and her musical director Stuart Price weaved her gleaming discography into a career-spanning narrative on 2023-2024’s ‘The Celebration Tour’.
Now comes ‘Confessions II’, a concerted sequel to her last great album, 2005’s pulsating club opus ‘Confessions On A Dance Floor’. Once again, Madonna has co-written and co-produced the lion’s share with Price, though there are also contributions from avant-pop musician Arca and The Rolling Stones producer Andrew Watt. And, as with ‘Confessions I’, as it now seems acceptable to call the 2005 album, the entire 63-minute record is structured like a DJ set with no breaks between tracks.
At a recent listening session attended by NME, Price explained that this album is less rooted in the “disco-house” sound of ‘Confessions I’ and more driven by the sinewy beats of Detroit and Chicago house. Madonna telegraphs this on the opening song ‘I Feel So Free’, a deep house heater that features a smart sample from Lil Louis’ 1989 club classic ‘French Kiss’.
‘Confessions II’ is also peppered with references to Madonna’s iconic discography, which is probably inevitable when you’ve made as much great dance music as Madonna. There are sonic nods to classic singles like 1990’s ‘Justify My Love’ and 1994’s ‘Bedtime Story’ – on ‘Everything’ and ‘My Sins Are My Savior’ respectively – as well as frequent spoken word parts that recall her most underrated album, 1992’s moody and subdued ‘Erotica’. On ‘Danceteria’, a thrilling tribute to the New York nightclub where she found her sound and her chosen family, Madonna namechecks Mark Kamins, the DJ who produced her 1982 debut single, ‘Everybody’.
There’s the odd track that doesn’t click – the Picasso-referencing ‘School’ is a bit of a racket – while others mainly gain gravitas or intrigue because, well, it’s Madonna singing them. When she declares “it’s not OK, I don’t fuck with it!” on the thumping ‘Everything’, you really do wonder what’s upset her. Did someone send hydrangeas? But most of ‘Confessions II’ succeeds because it’s the careful handiwork of an uncommonly talented club kid who still feels the power of dance music in her bones and in her soul.
After 40-odd minutes of pounding house-pop and trippy trance, the album becomes more reflective in its closing stretch: Madonna celebrates her late brother Christopher on the lovely rave ballad ‘Fragile’, then duets with her daughter Lola Leon on the trip-hop-flavoured mea culpa ‘The Test’. By drawing from her past, both personally and musically, Madonna has made her most vital album in over two decades. This grande dame still knows how to make us move.
Details
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- Record label: Warner
- Release date: July 3, 2026