- A Madonna classic enters the dark and noir-ish world of Italians Do It Better.
- When you do a tribute compilation like Italians Do It Better's new Madonna birthday celebration, do you ape the artist's style or be potentially blasphemous and put your own spin on it? The Los Angeles label's roster of artists take both approaches, but the major highlight comes from Glüme, who takes the latter approach and hits it out of the park. "Material Gear" is one of Madonna's bubbliest jams, but in Glüme's hands it becomes a gossamer-thin and faucet-drip slow synth ballad, with the kind of noir intrigue that defines the label's best music. It's that rare cover that highlights the influence artist has on imitator, then folds it back into itself to create something that feels both wonderfully novel and comfortingly familiar.