Popstars - Hear'Say > Reviews > Hear I Say

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money

Advantages:	Good pop and Kym's got a great voice
Disadvantages:	Some tracks are nothing special

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Everyone is waiting for Hear'Say to fall flat on their face and fail. But I fear not. After the manic blitz of publicity surrounding the band and their programme, it's time to think about the MUSIC! The first single 'Pure and Simple' which sold a scary amount of copies is the first track on Popstars, and it sets the style for the rest. It is a great pop song witha sing-along appeal, and so are most of the rest.
The other song people know them for is 'The Way to your Love', which is now their second number one but was the other song they sang on SM:TV when people where fed up of Pure and Simple every week. This song is much the same. Each member has their own little turn to sing and the chorus will take root in your head and never will it budge.
There is also rwo cover versions of songs from their audition days. 'Monday Monday' has a sixties swing sound and is as always very catchy. Then there is 'Bridge over Troubled Water'. Well. I hold Hear'Say responsible for the recent epidemic of this song. It was very good. Now it's just annoying, and has lost its appeal. The same thing happened with 'I know him So well', and 'My Heart will go on'. Wannabe's all over the country were singing them, on every Star for a Night or Star Steps or whatever they are called. This is rapidly becoming the case with 'Bridge...'. Their version is still good though, and finishes off the album well.
The do have other songs in their repetoire though. The two co-writes by Hear'Say on the album are 'Make it Happen' which is a good poppy dance tune, althogh Myleene sounds like she has a sore throught. The other is 'One Step Closer' which is a mid-tempo, very poppy and VERY catchy (noticing a pattern at all?). The band clearly can pull off co writing, and with Myleene achieving 99% in her A level music (HOW!!!!?????) they should be writing completely alone soon.
To be honest, thats it really. All the tracks are either very good or O.K., but they tend to merge into one and aren't memorable as being that good. There is 'One' which is pretty funky, 'Carried a Way', which is a very cheesy but suprisingly touching ballad, and 'Not the Kind' which you may think sounds like something else, but I wont give that away.
Of course they can sing, especially Kym who has a really good voice, and have proved they can sing live, the question is now- can they keep it up or is it just a novelty? This album shows that they are capable of having a long career, as long as they concentrate on the MUSIC and not as much the publicity stunts.
One other thing. There were THAT MANY mistakes in the booklet that you got the impression that it was thrown together in a couple of weeks, and so first impressions aren't v. good. A couple of listens though, and you'll most likely see it is a perfectly fine pop album.