If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

Hot off her most culturally successful year in a decade, the Princess of Pop expands on last year’s acclaimed Tension with a set of 9 slick new dance cuts. You can’t blame Kylie Minogue for re-upping on last year’s hitmaker song “Padam Padam” — which granted her a second Grammy — and offering fans more cuts, even if they aren’t as immediate and sharp as the parent album they come from.

It’s tough to determine if this is a deluxe album, expanded set, or her 16th LP, but it’s best not to overthink the tight melodies and playfulness Minogue demonstrates here (like with all her music). A chameleon and master of invention who can go from disco diva to electronic artsy pop auteur, it’s a little disappointing that Tension II’s songs are identical in scope and size to Tension’s, but standouts await. Lead single “Lights Camera Action” leans hard into the icon angle with lyrics like “I look stellar tonight, my armor is by Gaultier,” which comes out of nowhere only if you forget the braggadocious “Hands” of last year. It’s amplified by “Edge of Saturday Night,” a sleazy and energetic track whose video sees Minogue stumbling around, reigning a dancefloor, appropriately adored. “In my bag, now, Birkin, hold it / In my tracksuit and I’m still noticed,” she mumbles, playing the character of a disaffected legend showing up at the club to party (inspired by Charli xcx, who knows). It’s sexy, confident, gritty, and she feels surprisingly at home.

Other smashes await in “Someone For Me,” which not-so-subtly asks if her friend’s male suitor might have a friend, and “Kiss Bang Bang,” with a pleading, pulsating beat. “Taboo” doesn’t necessarily name what about this relationship would break some rules, but she reverts to a younger self as she admonishes herself for falling for someone she shouldn’t: “Why am I like this?” she asks, part journal entry. These all rely on the sex appeal she tapped into on Tension that calls back to some of the best songs on Body Language or Fever, strained, whispering pleas. “To be the one / To turn me on / That’s what I need,” she asks.

Others lean back on the energy, act more as feel-good anthems than club pounders. “Dance To The Music” invokes Donna Summer in sound and lyrics to craft the kind of disco track she’s found homes on recently, and “Shoulda Left Ya” is pure chill, where she regrets not ditching her partner on the dancefloor. “Good As Gone” is about the same thing, but much sexier, and without any regret: “Love the way I look — ripped out of your arms,” she taunts.

Tension II includes four collaborations tacked on at the end: the aforementioned excellent “Edge of Saturday Night” with The Blessed Madonna, the country-twang jam “Midnight Ride,” and “My Oh My” with Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo, which doesn’t really have any redeeming qualities. It’s a song made for radio, perhaps, and the simplistic lyrics and Auto-Tuned voices don’t do much (for a much better Tove x Kylie crossover, their 2019 track “Really Don’t Like U” is perfect). The last is “Dance Alone” with Sia, whose inoffensive disco strings slot nicely into the rest of the tracklist.

Tension II is certainly not the most singular album in Kylie’s vision; if anything, it seems like a set of leftovers from a previous session she’d like to release so she can get onto new recordings, which, even while planning a world tour, she’s making mentions of starting. At the very least, they’re songs to dance to while waiting, reliving the glory of her new era — and besides, any new slate of music from the Princess of Pop is worth celebrating.

Order Tension II HERE