Girls Aloud - Out Of Control
'The Promise', all old-fashioned glamour, is in stark contrast to the simple electro of the quirky hit and miss numbers.
No introduction is necessary for the fifth album from Girls Aloud - you know Xenomania are not drastically going to let the world down. Lead single 'The Promise' is no representation of 'Out Of Control'; the gorgeous number, all old-fashioned glamour, is in stark contrast to the majority of the album, which offers simple electro alongside some quirky hit and miss numbers.
The match made in heaven that is Pet Shop Boys collaborating with Xenomania for Girls Aloud is, alas, a disappointment. 'The Loving Kind' is not a huge pop monster, nor a pithy, droll love song, but a run-of-the-mill midtempo track, that does however feature some wonderful vocals, particularly from Nicola.
'Rolling Back The Rivers In Time' is one of those off-kilter numbers the 'Aloud do so well, featuring a slide guitar bridge leading to another killer chorus. It's apparent that this is not a long player of stomping disco numbers - it's no 'What Will The Neighbours Say', instead with plenty more of where 'Call The Shots' came from. Examples are 'Love Is Pain', which seems more of a Pet Shop Boys song than the actual contribution, and the huge centre-piece slowie 'Untouchable'. At over six minutes, it takes you on a Kylie-esque journey with good intentions, but is ultimately not as epic as it wants to be, despite the camp disco paean of "we're beautiful robots dancing alone".
The upbeat songs are the sheer feel-good of 'Love Is The Key', a fantastic example of the pop greats where the bridge is better than the actual chorus, and with its retro, non-electro, vibe being the the uptempo partner to 'The Promise'. The frenetic 'Miss You Bow Wow' is an album highlight, doing what Girls Aloud do best - delivering attitude-laden lyrics such as "I remember living the dream, twenty minutes in the hotel bar, then I slip into your girlfriend's jeans".
Severe misses are 'Fix Me Up' and 'Revolution In The Head' - even the girls themselves sound embarrassed to be singing them. 'Out Of Control' peters out with the fun, but obvious filler of 'Live In The Country' and 'We Wanna Party', which despite being written a long time for someone else, is a fitting bittersweet anthem for Girls Aloud - built for partying to, but without love.
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