Madonna, Dark Ballet | Track Review

With “Dark Ballet,” pop icon Madonna delivers arguably the oddest and quirkiest single of her illustrious career.  It’s unique, if incredibly off-putting.   

First and foremost, Madonna is an icon – no dispute about that. Where my disputes have been with Madge in 2019 have been select singles from the much-anticipated Madame X. ‘Stans’ for Madge weren’t too pleased with my criticism regarding “Crave” in particular, her so-so song with Swae Lee that just didn’t do it for me.  Honestly, keeping it 100, Madame X hasn’t exactly had the smoothest rollout.  “Dark Ballet,” the fifth advance single from the LP, raises even more questions rather than provide answers.  It’s quite a unique listening experience…

Thinking positively first, “Dark Ballet” has some notable moments.  The opening is quite enigmatic, thriving off its moody, minor key production work.  This includes sleek piano lines, lush strings, and a hard, anchoring beat.  Madonna sings about fame, and for the most part, she sounds fine.  The vibe is pretty cool; I’m semi-onboard at this point. BUT… things get really weird pretty quick. The “ballet” becomes really “dark,” or rather, some short of circus… hmmm. Essentially, “Dark Ballet” transforms into something completely unexpected, featuring a twisted, ‘synth-tastic’ interpolation of The Nutcracker (‘Dance of the Reed Pipes,’ Tchaikovsky), while Madonna sings using vocoder during the bridge (“Say that I’m a witch and burn me at the stake”), while following up with an odd spoken word verse. (“Can’t you hear outside of your Supreme hoodie, the wind that’s beginning to howl?”).

Final Thoughts 

Hmm, it’s hard to know what to make of Madonna, “Dark Ballet,” and Madame X based on the advance singles.  Focusing merely on “Dark Ballet” as a song (without the visual piece), it’s definitely unique if nothing else.  But, it’s quite…umm…hmm… off-putting and definitely not commercial.  Mike Wass of Idolator has an interesting take on his review of the single: “It’s time to accept that the Queen of Pop’s days of chasing hits are over. She’s now doing whatever the fuck she wants, and it sounds amazing.” I’m not necessarily onboard with the ‘amazing’ part mind you, but “Dark Ballet” is something.  The visual piece supplants the song by the way.

Madonna • Madame X • Boy Toy, Inc. / Live Nation Worldwide, Inc. / Interscope • Release: 6.14.19

Photo Credits: Boy Toy, Inc. / Live Nation Worldwide, Inc. / Interscope