The Blessed Madonna’s ‘Godspeed’ Is a Housey Blast of Nonstop Party Starters: Album Review

variety.com:

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Some albums are made for chin-stroking, with deeply complex, intellectually challenging lyrics, song structures, instrumentation and production, creations that deeply stimulate the brain but leave the butt in neutral.

And then there are albums where the entire point is to make you feel good and dance — like veteran DJ the Blessed Madonna’s first full-length album, “Godspeed.” It’s nearly 90 minutes of nonstop party starters, where the groove and the emotion are jobs one and two, with the occasional strategic interlude to catch your breath and reset the mood.

None of which is to say “Godspeed” isn’t intelligent — it’s a masterfully created, produced and sequenced house-infused throwdown from one of the best DJs working today, the kind of rare album you could put on for a party and let play all the way through, and then play it again.

It’s got all of the elements: diva and soulful vocals, housey piano hooks, big choruses, fchunky guitars and a spiritual vibe throughout that occasionally slides straight into thoughtful, spoken interludes and even gospel (“Mercy (The Welcome).” It starts off deceptively, with the rigid beats of “Nowhere Fast” and “Henny Hold Up,” but soon settles into an easier house groove with the perfectly titled “Serotonin Moonbeams” and basically stays in that lane for the next hour-plus.