Catfights And Spotlights - Sugababes

I am a massive fan of the Sugababes, well not to the point where I follow their every move (although surely that is stalking, but that's a whole other issue ha-ha) but I do love their music. They never fail to impress me with their vocals and the style of their tunes. I don't think they have ever put a foot wrong for me, and this album is no exception.

Here I shall give you a run down of each track on the album along with my overall ...
...have to write. It's my first ever album review so I have my fingers crossed that you'll enjoy it, or at least I will have them crossed when I've finished typing it out.

The first track on this album is titled 'Girls' and is a remake of the Ernie K. Doe track, originally released in the seventies. It starts with the brass intro that is synonymous with the track and then leads into the Sugababes vocals 'Here come the girrrrrrrls… girls ... more

I am a massive fan of the Sugababes, well not to the point where I follow their every move (although surely that is stalking, but that's a whole other issue ha-ha) but I do love their music. They never fail to impress me with their vocals and the style of their tunes. I don't think they have ever put a foot wrong for me, and this album is no exception.

Here I shall give you a run down of each track on the album along with my overall view of it and hopefully you'll enjoy reading what I have to write. It's my first ever album review so I have my fingers crossed that you'll enjoy it, or at least I will have them crossed when I've finished typing it out.

The first track on this album is titled 'Girls' and is a remake of the Ernie K. Doe track, originally released in the seventies. It starts with the brass intro that is synonymous with the track and then leads into the Sugababes vocals 'Here come the girrrrrrrls… girls girls girls' which I feel work brilliantly for the track; it's a very strong and empowering version of the track I feel. The track doesn't stray too far from the original with the exception of the vocals and lyrics. It's something most people will instantly recognize, if not from the original, from the boots advert that used the track in one of its adverts last year.

My rating: 5/5

Next we move onto 'You On A Good Day'; this is quite an upbeat track which seems to be about going out with/sticking with somebody who always messes things up somehow, you know the kind of person who just attracts trouble and problems without even trying. The track is catchy but can feel a bit repetitive in parts where it's just repeating 'and baby that's you on a good day' but it's not a deal breaker and I think it's possibly going to be one of those tracks that you grow to love. The vocals are punchier in this track, and I think that works quite well overall for both the style and the lyrics within the track.

My rating: 5/5

Track 3 is a track named 'No Can Do'; the intro and chorus remind me of a Jackson 5 song, which in turn make it instantly catchy. It seems to be a slightly funkier track but still quite upbeat. The feeling I get from this track is that it's about a girl putting her foot down and getting rid of a boyfriend who has been less than perfect during their time together. The verses in the track aren't sung very softly but still sound good and work well with the track and the lyrics; I think this is partly to reflect on the lyrics themselves and in turn to emphasise on the strong feeling that dumping a rubbish boyfriend can invoke.

My rating: 4.5/5

'Hanging On A Star' is the next track on this album and this starts off with a stabby kind of intro, which quickly goes into the girls vocals 'tell me baby baby/you know you drive me crazy' that in terms how it's actually sung, sounds incredibly like the 'give it to me baby' section/riff from a track by The Offspring titled 'Pretty Fly For A White Guy'. There are also a few other small areas just like this too as the song goes on but I can forgive this as it's not a complete rip off of the track, and as a whole the track sounds nothing like The Offspring. It's another catchy song, very upbeat and poppy and works brilliantly with their instantly recognisable voices; yes it's slightly cheesy but I just can't help but tap my feet to this one.

My rating: 4.5/5

Track 5 sees a track named 'Side Chick' that sounds quite different from their usual style, as it feels a bit more urban. I was surprised to find that it still worked as they haven't gone overboard with the change of feel but enough to make the track feel fresh and new. Again, the vocals on this are more punchy than flowing, and at times verge on a light rap but I'd expect that it wouldn't work well with the track to sing the vocals any softer. It's another catchy track; this album is proving to be full of songs that I like quite quickly rather than having to wait for a week or so for them to grow on me. I'm not sure if this is my favourite song from the album but it's certainly not a disappointment to me.

My rating: 4/5

'Unbreakable Heart' is placed at track number 6 on the album and starts with the simple tinkle of a piano with subtle effects in the background, soon joined by the vocals of the Sugababes, but one at a time to start with. It seems like it may be a bit of a more romantic sounding track but actually it's still fairly edgy, just not as upbeat as some of their tracks. The track has different musical effects going through in the background, which I think is partially what still gives the track some edge to it. It does sound like a song I'd associate with the Sugababes so no surprises with the styling of this one.

My rating: 4/5

'Sunday Rain' is just over half way on this album, at number 7 on the track listing; it starts off with a deeper piano key that feels more smoochy and dramatic than the previous track and I instantly like it. The style of it feels very grown up and I could actually also imagine somebody like Amy Winehouse singing it, much like she did in back to black and love is a losing game. The Sugababes deliver a great vocal performance on this song and I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of their released tracks from the album.

My rating: 5/5

At number 8 we have a song called 'Every Heart Broken', and as with the previous couple of songs it starts with a fairly simple piano intro but soon gets a bit more of a beat to it, which lifts the feel of the track but it's not an upbeat track as such. There seems to be a few Westlife style key changes that are accompanied by a scale of the notes plus a whooshy sound. It's also not a very catchy track and definitely one of the few 'growers' on the album but I am sure you will get to like it more. A weird note to add is that I like the tinkly piano ending with just a few notes at the end *shrugs* 

My rating: 4/5

After the tinkly finish of the last track, we come to track 9 'Beware' which is instantly reflected in the intro of the track as it does seem to have a slightly eerie feel to it; not to an extreme though which is what keeps the Sugababes music accessible as they do include different styles and feelings to their tracks but without straying too far from what they are known for and what they do incredibly well. This track also seems quite grown up and is another one with a slightly more urban feel to it. The arrangement in this track works well between different riffs to each section of it, which keeps it from getting boring. I quite liked this instantly but it may be a grower to some of you.

My rating: 4/5

Track 10 'Nothings As Good As You' starts with a guitar and a really girly sounding vocal from one of the Sugababes and I think this works brilliantly as it has a delicate feel to it, before going into a bit more of an upbeat (ish) track. It sounds vaguely familiar but I can't put my finger on why; it could just be a very catchy track, which is entirely possible. It's a more poppy and ever so slightly rockier (with the guitars input) affair and another one that I think could be released as a single, and do well.

My rating: 5/5

'Sound Of Goodbye' is track 11 and we're getting close to the end of the album. Things slow down again with this one and it seems to be about ending a relationship again, possibly on better terms than the earlier song on this album though haha. I really like this one, and for a slow song it's still got quite a quirky catchy feel to it - especially the chorus. Another instantly recognisable as the Sugababes track here I think, not least due to the vocals.

My rating: 4.5/5

'Can We Call A Truce?' holds the 12th and penultimate position on album and is another slow one, which seems like they decided to wind the album down to an end with the slower songs. I think this works quite well to be honest but I'm not sure I'd like it on all albums as sometimes it's nice to end on more upbeat tracks. The tune itself is really nice and the lyrics again seem to be relating to some kind of break up or fall out where this person wants to end things on a good/better note rather than fight, or to save a relationship of some form by drawling a line under things and moving on. I really liked this one from the first play and the vocal performance again is nothing short of what you'd expect from the Sugababes.

Rating 5/5

The final song on the album sees the return of a familiar track from their previous album, Change. The track is the acoustic version of 'about you now' and is a beautiful, simple track that works just as well as the original arrangement if not better. The whole track is just 2 minutes and 45 seconds long but in all honestly I could have easily listened for longer. It is focused just on the girls' vocals, with a simple piano melody behind them. It works beautifully and I believe this is the version that was recently used on Hollyoaks when Steph sung it at Max's funeral; so if you got emotional at that point, you may want to reach for the tissues again haha.

My rating: 5/5

Overall I'd say this album is well worth buying if you normally like the Sugababes as they don't disappoint one little bit with this release. I was happy to find a lot of tracks that didn't need time to grow on me, but not so surprised as I've never been unhappy with one of their albums so far and things certainly haven't changed now.

I hope you find this review of some use and that I haven't bored the pants off you. X 

...less