That je ne sais quoi has fueled a nearly thirty-year career stretch. Seven studio releases and an equally impressive ancillary output (remix sets, an orchestral rework project, live double album, and more) have all preceded her current offering on the Decca label: Perimenopop. And who can forget her creative genesis at the peak of Britpop with theaudience, brainchild of respected musician (and occasional broadcaster) Billy Reeves.
Those same indie credentials with theaudience belie something more than just the usual focus on her dance oriented fare in critical circles; in truth said dance tunes often go hand-in-hand with her wider experimental pop-genre material. Consider Read My Lips (2001), her solo debut on the Polydor diskery that houses the perennial “Murder on the Dancefloor” – yes, that same tune from Emerald Fennell’s 2023 film Saltburn. The clubby blush of certain singles from that double platinum seller – “Take Me Home”, “Get Over You”, “Music Gets the Best of Me” – has tended to obscure the esoterica operating right alongside those accessible pieces.
Yet, Ellis-Bextor has maintained a delicate, stylistic homeostasis on every effort issued.
From lesser known singles, to deep cuts, b-sides and more, the British siren has proven that the pop genre can (and should) move about in various sound spheres. Which brings us to where she last left off: HANA (花) (2023). Her seventh release capped off her trilogy of progressive adult alternative recordings helmed by the renowned Ed Harcourt; it courted positive notices and respectable sales tallies. Contrary to the aforementioned “Saltburn effect” (and ensuing mania) with her signature tune “Murder on the Dancefloor”, Ellis-Bextor had been mulling over a more straight ahead affair for the follow-up to HANA (花).
Not dissimilar to her antipodean foremother Kylie Minogue’s post-Golden (2018) chess move with DISCO (2020), Ellis-Bextor is seeking to reclaim and refine the U.K. dance scene of the 2000s she helped shape with Perimenopop. Originally the set was denominated as The Invisible Line, she ultimately chose this, a portmanteau title for her eighth collection that pithily plays on “perimenopause” – a medical term for when women in their late 30s through to their early 40s transition between reproductivity and menopause – as a comment on the ageism-sexism women endure in the music industry. It is a signal from Ellis-Bextor that growing older won’t find women any less vital, artistically or otherwise. The content of Perimenopop – twelve tracks total – reflect this declarative/celebratory gesture. What’s more? Ellis-Bextor’s pen leads on every cut.
The writer-artist-musician-producer talents onboarded demonstrate Ellis-Bextor’s commitment to her vocation in how she balances both compositional substance and hooks aplenty in her songcraft: Hannah Robinson, MNEK, Selena Gomez, Finn Keane, Sam “Karma Kid” Knowles, Shura, Duck Blackwell, Thomas “Kid Harpoon” Hull, Richard “Biff” Stannard, Nile Rodgers (of Chic fame), Janée “Jin Jin” Bennett, Luke Fitton, Caroline Ailin, James Greenwood, Jon Shave, Baz Kaye, Julia Michaels and the cited Ed Harcourt make up Ellis-Bextor’s diverse collaborative court on this outing.
Studied Ellis-Bextor fans will thrill knowing that she hasn’t lost her way kicking off a long player with a bang as “Relentless Love” evinces. The throwback floorfiller – think prime era Taste of Honey or Baccara – packs a punch with its vivid string charts, coruscating programming and sylph-like beat; genres aside, it sits comfortably alongside prior notable album starters such as “Making Music”, “Revolution”, and “Birth of an Empire”.
Switching from old and new school modalities gives Ellis-Bextor room on the production front to rope in various elements from song to song. As such, Perimenopop is always an engaging listen.
Post-“Relentless Love”, flashes of disco-pop – in classic-to-contemporary tones – pulse on “Vertigo”, “Taste”, “Stay On Me”, and “Dolche Vita”. The uptempo rush of those first five tracks will bring immediate comparisons to her last four-on-the-floor affair Make a Scene (2011), except everything contained on this body of work feels that much richer and more sumptuous. Additional entries on Perimenopop like “Glamorous”, “Freedom of the Night”, “Layers”, and “Diamond in the Dark” keep with this glacial nightlife persuasion.
As with any Ellis-Bextor exercise, Perimenopop contains the hallmark pop eclecticism her discography is known for. On the record’s back-end are “Time”, “Heart Sings” and “Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone”. This triptych winningly utilizes a cooler synth-pop palette. “Heart Sings” and “Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone” are quite the pair; they close Perimenopop with a gorgeous emotional nuance in their respective lyrical scripts and performances. Drawing down on the latter aspect, Ellis-Bextor reveals her hand at how effectively she handles vulnerable stock with her vocal instrument.
Perimenopop doesn’t disguise that the mirrorball is the muse here, but don’t mistake this as some retreat into dance music indulgence. Instead, as stated previously, reclamation and refinement sit at the heart of Perimenopop with a few other sonic surprises tucked in. This should be expected. Ellis-Bextor’s decorated back catalog has always split a complementary difference between a good groove and inventive intrigue. Even when she turns the dial ever so slightly in one direction, Perimenopop is no exception. Turn it up and enjoy.