Album Review: Girls Aloud - Out of Control (4/5)

Seemingly disposable pop acts rarely make it this far. Even the greats of the last 10 years really only had a few good years in them each. Spice Girls, Steps, Blue, Atomic Kitten and All Saints quit after 3 albums; S Club 7 after 4. Only Sugababes--with their 6 albums and Westlife with their (gulp) 8--can lay claim to having had a longer continuous career than Girls Aloud, who this month deliver Out of Control, their fifth studio album, and first to top the UK albums chart.

Remarkably, they've yet to show any signs of getting stale. If anything, the group gets more interesting with each album. What Will the Neighbors Say? was their first Xenomania-produced album and bolder than their debut. Chemistry was a pulse-pounding workout of a pop album (with a few dud ballads). Tangled Up, their best yet, was a mix of such hard-edged pop and more restrained numbers like "Call the Shots." That great single appears to be the template for much of Out of Control, which largely steers away from the hyper-kinetic stuff sound embodied on tracks like "Biology," "Love Machine" or "Sexy (No No No)," to something a little more restrained, but still definitely upbeat. Like Tangled Up, Out of Control is also thankfully ballad free and has a decent diversity of sounds both very contemporary and retro.

"The Promise," the group's first #1 hit in 4 years, may be the most delightful single Girls Aloud have ever recorded. This track eschews their usual edgy electronic sound for something softer--a breezy, soulful throwback to '60s girlgroup. Horns, strings, synths, tambourines, and the girls blend together into a seamless mix. Mining the '60s is perhaps the biggest pop cliche of the last 2 years, but here it's done so well as to negate any potential scorn for jumping on this bandwagon. And then there's that most wonderfully satisfying of all pop cliches--the last act key change....Ah.

The rest of the album proceeds along more traditional GA territory--modern electro pop, although it has a darker, less frothy mood than previous albums. The Pet Shop Boys show up as guest co-writers on "The Loving Kind," a warm pop number bathed in rich synthesizer chords. Despite being produced by Xenomania--as all their songs are--it still has that evident PSB touch. "Rolling Back the Rivers in Time" is a pleasant mid-tempo number, awash in guitar and keyboards.

With "Love Is the Key" they get into something a bit harder. It starts with chanting monks, but quickly kicks into a hard-driving tempo heavy with guitar and spoken-word verses. "Turn to Stone" is fairly traditional territory for GA--clearer beats with electronic melody. It has a trance-like chorus of airy vocals and synth effects. "Untouchable" has a light guitar melody not unlike what graced Kylie's "Love at First Sight," building from a quiet opening to a clubby Eurobeat. At almost 7 minutes, its surprisingly long, but works quite well. "Fix Me Up" has a funky '70s strut, but is probably my least favorite track so far, suffering from a curious lack of melody.

"Love Is Pain" has an intense '80s presence, owing to its sharp synthesizers. It's got a rather dark melody, like something borrowed from Depeche Mode. The very upbeat "Miss You Bow Wow" is a frenetic mix of guitar, keyboards bordering on a video game-like quality and rapid-fire vocals. This track is the most like something from Chemistry. "Revolution in the Head" is a odd one--hand claps, synth effects, acoustic guitar strums, and not much melody.

"Live in the Country," which uses a drum n' bass beat with heavy synth melody, is the highlight of the album's second half, complete with closing farm animal sounds. "We Wanna Party" though is a rather by-the-numbers closer. Probably could have been cut.

If it's not as good as last year's Tangled Up, it comes pretty close. The first half is especially enjoyable, with an interesting mix of upbeat but gentler (for this group anyway) pop songs, any of which could be future singles. Out of Control is experimental as any Girls Aloud album should be, even if not all the experiments work as well this time.

Best: The Promise, Love Is the Key, The Loving Kind, Rolling Back the Rivers in Time, Untouchable, Turn to Stone, Live in the Country

Album Review: Girls Aloud - Tangled Up (4.5 / 5)

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