While the Sugababes continue to be Britain's reigning girl group, Girls Aloud continue to nip at their heels. Sure the Sugababes have bigger hits, but recently they've begun to rest on their laurels. In 2005 both groups released albums. The 'Babes scored a massive #1 with "Push the Button," and while the first half of Taller in More Ways, was great, the second half was a bore. The Girls meanwhile saw their luck on singles chart falter. After a consistent string of top 5 hits, only one single from Chemistry, "Biology," earned that honor. Despite that, Chemistry was the more consistent and better album of the two, showing a good degree of innovation, but an unfortunate lack of hooks.Fast-forward to 2007 where both groups again have new albums, and prior to their release, the pop landscape looked poised for a repeat. Sugababes first single, "About You Now" became another smash, spending a month at #1, while the Girls Aloud single, "Sexy! No No No..." only made #5 and fell quickly down the chart.
Then the albums arrived. Sugababes' Change received mixed reviews, and based on the 30-second sample clips, sounded like it was going to be a repeat of their last album: a few great tracks, but too much filler. I'm looking forward to future singles, particularly "Never Gonna Dance Again," but so far, I haven't felt inclined to purchase Change. On the other hand, Tangled Up, the fourth Girls Aloud album, has received stellar reviews, so even though I didn't love Chemistry, I thought I'd give it a try. I wasn't disappointed.
Tangled Up is the best Girls Aloud album yet, effectively addressing the shortcomings of Chemistry while maintaining the band's signature propulsive pop sound, courtesy of production team Xenomania. Notably, they've dispensed with the balladry, which was never the group's strength, and the songs continue to display pop production innovation but with better hooks.
The first half of the album is particularly good, although there isn't a bad track here. "Call the Shots," restrained for a Girls Aloud track, pulses with '80s synths, a dark sound, and a knockout chorus. Spunky "Close to Love" screams "release me!" and crackles with a production layered between synths and electric guitar. First single "Sexy! No No No..." opens with a swirl of keyboard and vocoder vocals before exploding forth with beats and guitar. The band's signature energy doesn't let up for "Girl Overboard," a slice of Europop.
Then there's "Can't Speak French," my favorite song here. Not as high-energy as the other tracks, but very cool. I love the unusual beat and slinky groove, plus the lyric: "I can't speak French, so I let the funky music do the talking, talking now."
What's great about this album is that it feels very cohesive, but no two songs sound alike. "Black Jacks" has a rock vibe and a pounding chorus. "Control of the Knife" goes for a Caribbean sound with that reggae keyboard beat, although faster than I've usually heard it. "Fling" is quite the concoction. It opens with a sound effect like the Star Trek transporter and is layered with fuzzy keyboard and guitars over a fast dance beat.
"Falling" hits hard with low bursts of something--synths? guitar? synth-guitar? Whatever it is, it's great, coupled with another strong chorus. The only ones I don't like as much are "What You Crying For," which is fine, but doesn't stand out for any reason, and "Crocodile Tears," which, because it's mid-tempo, is the album's slowest track. These are not bad songs by any means, just not gems.
It's been 3 years since Girls Aloud had a proper #1 hit (not counting their Sugagabes collaboration remake of "Walk This Way" earlier this year), and as good as this album is, I don't think any of these songs is going to change that. No one track stands out with the kind of attention-seeking character of a #1 single, but I'd much rather have an album of interesting pop songs than spend $16 on something that only gives me a handful of tracks I like. Besides, they seem to be having too much fun being Xenomania play things to care.
Best: Can't Speak French, Call the Shots, Close to Love, Sexy! No No No..., Black Jacks, Fling, Girl Overboard, I'm Falling, Control of the Knife
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