For fans of pop music a new Kylie album is a big event and 'X' was the biggest of her 20-year career. When we first received the album a couple of months before it was released, it seemed brilliant. After a few weeks its appeal had faded. It seemed like a 6/10 sort of album — slightly above average and, for that reason, an average Kylie album.
On Popjustice and elsewhere, we and other Kylie fans debated 'X'.
A&R decisions were discusssed; Kylie's own involvement was questioned. Should she have been more hands on — or more hands off? What of William Baker's influence on the process? Should the album have been pure pop or aggressive electro, or was a confused mix off the two what the public actually wanted? Perhaps it should have been neither pop or electronic music, and new styles should have been covered. Perhaps 'X' should have been torch ballads. Lyrically, meanwhile, should it have explicitly addressed her experiences from the last few years, or do fans really want Kylie to be a trouper, to carry on without reference to her private live, business as usual?
Listening to the album now, in a new year and with the weight of expection having lifted, it's a different album; better than we thought. So we were wrong to give it its 6/10 rating, because it is in fact 6.25/10.