Madonna's Confessions II is being called her best album in twenty years and honestly the reviews are not exaggerating

[Courier53]

Madonna returned on July 3 with Confessions II, a direct sequel to her 2005 landmark Confessions on a Dance Floor, again produced largely alongside Stuart Price who helmed the original

Variety called it easily the best album Madonna has made in two decades, a record that celebrates the thrill of the dance floor while embracing its mystique, though the review notes the back half stretches a bit thin before she pivots into more personal territory

The most talked about tracks are the personal ones tucked into the album's final act, particularly Fragile, a tribute to her late brother Christopher Ciccone, and The Test, a duet with her daughter Lourdes Leon about the strain of growing up in the spotlight

Danceteria is being singled out as the centrepiece by multiple reviewers, a tribute to the early 1980s New York club scene where Madonna's career actually began, name checking the DJ who produced her first single back in 1982

At 70 years old and seven years removed from her last album, Madonna deliberately built this one as a continuous mix meant to be listened to start to finish like an actual club set, rather than a collection of standalone singles

Madonna's 'Confessions II' Is Her Best Album in Decades: Album Reviewvariety.com

[MJF86]

Fragile as a tribute to her brother sounds like it could be genuinely moving, that kind of personal material is where Madonna has always been most compelling to me

[Solid Gary]

A sequel album twenty one years later is a bold move but if the reviews are right that she pulled it off then credit where it is due

[NeuralTrace96]

The Danceteria tribute is such a smart way to bookend her career, going back to the exact scene that made her before any of the fame happened

[Joel96]

Seventy years old and still making club records that critics are calling her best in decades is genuinely impressive longevity

[HollywoodHogan02]

I am curious whether this actually produces a big single the way Hung Up did on the original, reviews mention there is no obvious equivalent this time

[Glenn83]

The duet with her daughter is either going to be incredibly moving or incredibly awkward, there does not seem to be much middle ground with celebrity family collaborations

[Andy81]

Building it as one continuous mix rather than standalone singles is an interesting choice in an era where everything gets released as isolated streaming tracks

[HeartbreakKid92]

Stuart Price coming back for the sequel makes total sense, hard to imagine anyone else recapturing that original sound as faithfully

[Coastal Otter]

Every generation gets its own Madonna comeback narrative it feels like, but this one actually sounds like it might be backed up by the music itself for once