Conventional wisdom holds that Madonna’s most significant work since the mid-2000s is Confessions On A Dance Floor (2005), a disco-aimed concept album produced with Stuart Price to play out like a continuous DJ set. That project gave us the timeless track “Hung Up,” a tune Scott Lapatine once described as a blend of Kylie and ABBA back when it first appeared as a ringtone.
So it was with much fanfare and anticipation that Madonna began dropping hints about a Price collaboration in December 2024. In April, she officially announced the record, titled Confessions II, would arrive that day. The rollout, which included a Sabrina Carpenter feature unveiled at Coachella, a Grindr-sponsored pop-up show in Times Square, and a promotional film starring contemporary dance-pop voices like Arca, Shygirl, and Honey Dijon, confirmed that Confessions II was indeed releasing.
Admittedly, I’m listening from a chair at a desk rather than on a dance floor, but on first listen the record feels like exactly what Madonna’s devotees have hoped for. She and Price—assisted by Andrew Watt, Cirkut, Tainy, Mustapha, and Martin Garrix—have crafted a chic club orientation that could make you feel unshackled this long holiday weekend. And here, once more, is the guiding creed:
We must move, rejoice, and approach our bodies with reverence. These rhythms are ancient practices—truly spiritual in their own right. The dance floor serves as a ritual space, a place to connect—with wounds, with vulnerability. Raving is an art form that tests boundaries and forges a community of like-minded souls. Sound, light, and vibration shape perception, pulling us into a trance. The bass repeats itself in a way we not only hear but feel, altering awareness and dissolving ego and time.
There’s a notable sense of kinship in this project. The record draws on the losses of Madonna’s brother, Christopher Ciccone, and her stepmother, Joan Ciccone, who passed away in late 2024, and Madonna’s daughter Lola Leon lends her voice on “The Test.” The release also nods to Madonna’s own history with songs like “Danceteria,” a tribute to the famed New York club where Madonna and contemporaries such as RuPaul and the Beastie Boys propelled their careers. Other guests include Stromae and Feid.
Even more new Madonna dance-floor anthems are queued up beyond today’s drop. Eight additional tracks have been reserved for a future edition—presumably a deluxe version—among them the Arca collaboration “What Will Save Me.” In the meantime, immerse yourself in the canonical Confessions II below—and when you’re done, hope Madonna reconnects with William Orbit for a Ray Of Light II project.
Confessions II is out now via Boy Toy Inc/Warner.
