All through her career, it has been impossible to divorce Madonna's music from her image, as they feed off each other to the point where it's hard to tell which came first, the concept or the songs. Glancing at the aggressively ugly cover to Hard Candy with its blistering pinks and assaultive leather, it's hard not to wish that this is the one time...

All through her career, it has been impossible to divorce Madonna's music from her image, as they feed off each other to the point where it's hard to tell which came first, the concept or the songs. Glancing at the aggressively ugly cover to Hard Candy with its blistering pinks and assaultive leather, it's hard not to wish that this is the one time Madge broke from tradition, offering music that wasn't quite as garish as her graphics. But that is not the case, and Hard Candy is all hard edges and blaring primary colors, an utterly modern, steely sex album for the new millennium, the age of Cialis and an era when Top 40 has pretty much ceased to exist. A pop artist as sharp as Madonna knows this, so she has abandoned the idea of a big crossover hit and pitches Hard Candy directly toward her core audience of club-conscious, fashion-forward trendsetters. This is a smart play, as this is the audience that has always consisted of Madonna loyalists, and it's also is a savvy way to negotiate the explosion of niches in 2008. Madonna relies on the Neptunes and the pair of Timbaland and Justin Timberlake for most of her modern makeover -- a good idea in theory as they are some of the biggest hitmakers of the decade. Sometimes this can result in reasonably appealing grooves -- "Candy Shop" captures Pharrell Williams' flair for slim, sleek grooves; "Dance 2night" conjures Timberlake's Off the Wall obsession nicely; and the icy heartbreak of "Miles Away" is a worthy successor to "What Goes Around Comes Around." But this also points out a shortcoming of Hard Candy: the tracks take precedence over the songs. Madonna's greatness has always hinged on how she channeled dance trends into pop songs, placing equal emphasis on sound and melody, which provided a neat way to sneak underground club trends into the mainstream. Here, she cedes melodic hooks to rhythmic hooks, and sounds as if she handed the reins over to Pharrell and Timba-Lake, trusting them to provide the polish. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide