Forget Jedward, the real revelation during this year's X Factor has been Dannii Minogue. She may have been edited down to virtual irrelevance in the audition eps, but she's come out fighting on the live shows, armed with common sense, plenty of wit - Danylgate, ahem, excepted - and a better stylist than Cheryl Cole. Actually, it's kind of surprising that Minogue, D still hasn't used the show to launch a proper pop comeback, but the latest re-examination of her back catalogue is well-timed to capitalise on her recent rum form. Her first two albums - 1991's Love And Kisses and 1993's Get Into You - have each been granted the 'Deluxe' reissue treatment, but most intriguing of all is something called The 1995 Sessions.

The what? Well, here's what Dannii herself has to say in the liner notes: "Many have asked me about this collection of demos written and recorded during 1994 and 1995. I hope you enjoy the 'love' here and can now see my discovery of dance music following the Get Into You album and how I arrived at [third LP] Girl in 1997." And here are the key points to note: although they're presented as "demo recordings", these 13 tracks don't sound unfinished; most of them are stronger than their unreleased status would suggest; collectively they're as reminiscent of their era as the Kangol beret Minogue rocks in one particularly cute booklet photo.

In fact, the seven uptempo club cuts that open the collection reek so heavily of the mid-90s that they may as well be sprayed in CK One. Just look at the song titles: 'Free Your Love', 'Love And Affection', 'Let Love Into Your Life', 'Crazy (For Your Love)', 'Take My Time Loving You'... However, just as The 1995 Sessions is in danger of becoming samey, it throws up a few surprises: 'Love In Me' dips its toes into trancier waters, 'Exclusively' brings a bit of R&B bounce to proceedings, and 'Don't Wanna Leave You Now' and 'Love Will Find A Way' are sleek 'n' slinky pop ballads. If Louise had released the latter back in the day, she'd have taken it into the top ten.

The 1995 Sessions may evoke its era rather than transcend it, but as a nostalgia trip it's an absolute blast. 'Everlasting Night', which later became the theme song of the 1999 Sydney Mardi Gras, is a particular delight, sounding like a Eurovision winner that never was. Minogue, meanwhile, shows greater vocal chops than Louis Walsh will ever give her credit for. She's comfortable leading a gospel choir on 'Let Love Into Your Life', suitably seductive on those slowies and able to pull off nearly every house music cliché ("Set your soul on fire" et al) she's presented with. If her X Factor comeback has piqued your curiosity, or you enjoyed a couple of her hits from the late '90s/early '00s, or you just have a soft spot for 15-year-old dance-pop, The 1995 Sessions is well worth a listen. Especially if you've still got an old Kangol beret tucked away at the back of your wardrobe.