Girls Aloud have always intrigued me, but never won me over enough to buy one of their albums. I'm a Sugababes guy when it comes to my UK girlgroups. So while I enjoyed the singles from their last album, particularly "Love Machine" and "The Show," I was never moved enough to buy What Will The Neighbours Say?, which is probably a good thing, since I hear it wasn't that great beyond the released tracks (even the fourth one, "Wake Me Up" was not much). Then here comes third album Chemistry, preceeded by the underperforming "Long Hot Summer" in August, and then the stomper "Biology," which at first I thought was just so-so, but later I warmed to it. Now we have Christmas release "See The Day," which is also good, but doesn't quite knock it out of the ballpark.
Critics love Chemistry, and I want to also, but alas it's just good, not excellent in my mind. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on here--futuristic sounds, slick production, and a definite lack of versus in many of the tracks. "Models" is a lot fun, even jauntier than "Biology." "Wild Horses" starts out like it's from Harry Potter's school chorus before jumping into frenetic guitar-driven elegance. "Watch Me Go" is a standout track with an irresistable beat whose sound owes a lot to the 'babes "Hole in the Head." Not a surprising coincidence, as I hear they often share the same producer, Xenomania. "Swining London Town" also stands out for being brash, bold, and loud. The whole lot is fun--almost too much fun, but certainly enjoyable. "Whole Lotta History," the album's other ballad, grounds this party from getting too out of control, and would make a great fifth single (after "Models"). In all, it's quite good--better than the Sugababes latest album, but without the powerhouse standout like "Push the Button."
As a special bonus--get the 2 CD Christmas version of Chemistry, which includes a second disc of Christmas songs (and alternate sleeve art).
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