Twenty years after the huge success of Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna makes her long-awaited return with Confessions II, her fifteenth studio album. Released on July 3, 2026, this new record reunites her with producer Stuart Price, the architect behind the electro-dance sound that helped make the original album a worldwide success.
Blending house, disco, and contemporary pop, Madonna delivers an energetic project designed as a true celebration of the dance floor. The album also features collaborations with Sabrina Carpenter, Lourdes Leon, and Feid. Beneath its infectious rhythms, Confessions II explores more personal themes, touching on family, life’s challenges, and resilience. Praised by critics as one of her strongest albums in more than twenty years, the record demonstrates Madonna’s ability to reinvent herself while remaining true to her artistic identity.
With Confessions II, the Queen of Pop once again proves that she remains one of the most influential figures in international music.
For this review, you will find 2 versions tested:
Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.
The synthesis of the review are available here
The album is composed of 16 tracks:
- I Feel So Free
- Good For The Soul
- One Step Away
- Bring Your Love
- Danceteria
- Read My Lips
- Everything
- Love Sensation
- Love Without Words
- Bizarre
- School
- Fragile
- My Sins Are My Savior (feat. Stromae)
- Betrayal
- The Test
- L.E.S. Girl
Summary, scoring and Samples
Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2026
Presentation
This is the Tidal MAX presented in lossless 24 bits 44.1 kHz format. This is also available on Amazon Music an Apple Music.
Waveform and Spectrum: DR5
The waveform of the Tidal MAX – 2026 version shows a extremely low dynamic range confirmed with DR5.
The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.
The graph below compares the spectrum of the Tidal MAX – 2026 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Clear pink vinyl record – 2026 (blue curve).Low frequencies (60 Hz) (green zone): The digital version (Tidal MAX) shows higher energy at 60 Hz compared to the vinyl version, indicating a more pronounced low-frequency presence in the digital format.
Mid and high frequencies (2 kHz – 20 kHz) (yellow zone): Starting from 2 kHz, a slight attenuation is observed on the vinyl. The level of the vinyl version is 2 to 3 dB lower than the digital version throughout this frequency range.
Ultra-high frequencies (Beyond 22 kHz) (yellow arrow): A major distinction appears after 20 kHz. While the digital version exhibits a sharp cut due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency used for the Tidal MAX version, the signal beyond 22 kHz does not represent an extension of the musical frequency response, but rather reflects the distortion and noise floor inherent to the vinyl format.
Synthesis and listening
Unsurprisingly, Madonna’s new album follows the standards of the loudness war. The sound lacks dynamic range, and the heavy compression quickly becomes noticeable as the listening volume is increased. On the other hand, the low frequencies are more pronounced than on the vinyl edition. The vinyl release offers a more spacious soundstage and a more open presentation, while being less affected by dynamic compression, resulting in a more enjoyable listening experience.
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●oooo (1)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
- Restitution: ●●ooo (2.5)
Ed 2: Clear pink vinyl record – 2026
Presentation
This is the Pink Translucent vinyl record composed with 2 LP at 33 1/3 rpm (ref : 093624822417)
Waveform and Spectrum: DR10
The waveform of the Clear pink vinyl record – 2026 version shows a correct dynamic range confirmed with DR10.
The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz with signal above this frequency containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record s operating principle.
The graph below compares the spectrum of the Tidal MAX – 2026 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Clear pink vinyl record – 2026 (blue curve).Low frequencies (60 Hz) (green zone): The digital version (Tidal MAX) shows higher energy at 60 Hz compared to the vinyl version, indicating a more pronounced low-frequency presence in the digital format.
Mid and high frequencies (2 kHz – 20 kHz) (yellow zone): Starting from 2 kHz, a slight attenuation is observed on the vinyl. The level of the vinyl version is 2 to 3 dB lower than the digital version throughout this frequency range.
Ultra-high frequencies (Beyond 22 kHz) (yellow arrow): A major distinction appears after 20 kHz. While the digital version exhibits a sharp cut due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency used for the Tidal MAX version, the signal beyond 22 kHz does not represent an extension of the musical frequency response, but rather reflects the distortion and noise floor inherent to the vinyl format.
Synthesis and listening
In listening tests, the vinyl edition stands out with a wider soundstage and a more dynamic presentation than the digital release. The bass is also slightly less pronounced, contributing to a more natural tonal balance. As is often the case today, the master used for the vinyl pressing was most likely derived from the same heavily compressed source as the digital version. The perceived increase in dynamic range is therefore not the result of a dedicated vinyl mastering, but rather a consequence of the characteristics of the analog format, which naturally mitigates the effects of brickwall digital compression, as explained in the following article: “Does analog media force a dynamic on music? or Does Analog Media increase the dynamics?“.
Rating:
- Dynamic: ●●●oo (3)
- Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
- Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
- Restitution: ●●●oo (3)
The digital version of Madonna s new album unfortunately does not escape the loudness war, a trend that continues to shape many modern productions. On listening, the vinyl record proves to be the most enjoyable, thanks to a less compressed presentation and a more natural dynamic range.
However, the absence of a Dolby Atmos version is somewhat surprising. It is hard to imagine this being a budget issue for an artist of Madonna s stature. There remains the hope that a future deluxe edition could offer a Dolby Atmos mix, possibly alongside a Blu-ray Audio release in the coming weeks or months.
Dynamic Range measurements are shown below.
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Measurements
Dynamic Range comparaisons
Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. The target is to compare the dynamics of the music and not of the media (CD, digital files or vinyl).
For our 2 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :
| Tidal MAX – 2026 | Clear pink vinyl record – 2026 | |
| Global | DR5 | DR10 |
| Min | DR4 | DR9 |
| Max | DR7 | DR12 |
| I Feel So Free | DR05 | DR10 |
| Good For The Soul | DR06 | DR10 |
| One Step Away | DR06 | DR09 |
| Bring Your Love | DR06 | DR10 |
| Danceteria | DR05 | DR10 |
| Read My Lips | DR05 | DR09 |
| Everything | DR04 | DR09 |
| Love Sensation | DR06 | DR09 |
| Love Without Words | DR06 | DR10 |
| Bizarre | DR04 | DR09 |
| School | DR05 | DR10 |
| Fragile | DR04 | DR12 |
| My Sins Are My Savior (feat. Stromae) | DR06 | DR12 |
| Betrayal | DR05 | DR11 |
| The Test | DR05 | DR10 |
| L.E.S. Girl | DR07 | DR11 |
As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.
Detail of the ratings :
- Dynamic :
- Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
- Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
- Correct piece DR >=10
- No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
- No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
- Spectrum :
- Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
- Spectrum cut at 15 khz
- Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
- Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
- Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
- Surface noise (only for vinyl):
- Continuous audible noise
- Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
- Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
- Low surface noise, very good quality
- Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
- Spatialization :
- Between 0 and 5 for 5.1 or 7.1 channels configuration
- Between 0 and 10 for Atmos configuration (7.1.4)
- For more information on spatialization, you can read the article describing this parameter here.
- Restitution :
- Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
- Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
- Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
- High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
- Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.