Lopez Blogs

Girls Aloud - Out of Control:
First of all, I think the Attitude magazine cover (above) is a far more worthy album cover than the tosh that the marketing team ultimately came up with. For starters it has Nicola in the middle looking pale, vampiric and amazing. And if you look at Cheryl's legs only, it looks like she is dying for a piss. Secondly, it's weird to think that 6 years into their popstars career, Girls Aloud are arguably more beloved than ever and are at the top of their game with this, their fifth studio album. Weird because a) popstar winners don't often have that much of a shelf life and b) Girls Aloud found a winning formula with Xenomania and have managed to hone and refine it without it getting staid or boring. The formula once again has changed a little bit and much has been made about this being their sixties sounding album. Not so. There are elements of the sixties sound within their tunes, but it is very much about learning lifes lessons set to a plethora of styles and beats. Lead off single The Promise comes in a slightly different format to the single edit, with a longer introduction and a fade out of the end verse sections. It has actually doubled my obsession with the song - the fade out works well as a metaphor for the lyrics ("promise i made starting to fade") and just leaves you with this lingering memory of what could've been. And actually that sets up the album incredibly well - it's actually quite a sad, pensive set of work. Spiritual successor to Call The Shots is the much ballyhooed Pet Shop Boys collaboration The Loving Kind. It's best described as a synth ballad and like many of the PSB female collaborations works well because the song suits a female vocal but you just hear echoes of what it would be like if Neil sang it in the back of your mind. This utterly has to be the second single or I feel that my brain will not be able to take the injustice and totally shut down on me. Honestly, if the album ended here I would die a happy man. Incredibly though there are more synth pop epics just around the corner including the Bacharach with beats "Rolling Back The Rivers" (amazing wooooo sounds throughout) and the best "opposites attract" song since A*Teens Perfect Match in the very excellent Love Is The Key which of course has about 10 different songs within it, including a male choral bit, some country type music, a bit between the verse and chorus and then a slam dunk of a chorus about tiles and curtains. Seriously! The Girls are growing up and settling down, yet still doing it with a party atmosphere hanging around in the background. Turn To Stone is probably the most traditional sounding GA song on the album, with it's electro beats, soaring chorus and epic bassline. It's good but it's just passing time until the most epic GA song of all time (possibly) appears. Not many pop acts could get away with releasing a nigh on 7 minute single, but i think the Girls should with the blissful Untouchable. Mixing incredibly sad lyrics (no one else will ever make a robot dancing alone sound so utterly heartbreaking) with a balearic beat, some gorgeous Nicola vocals and a swirling disco feel. This track won't be for everyone, but if you connect with it then amid the luscious instrumentation lies the heart of a true damaged romantic that longs to beat once more. Stunning.


Fix me Up is in true funk-soul territory complete with dirty hornbag lyrics, so it's no surprise that hardcore Harding takes the lead on this and hits it out of the ballpark. It's not single material, but definitely is no album filler. I did think they said they were looking for some homosexual healing, but surely that can't be right?! Then comes perhaps the most personal song on the album where there is a plea to "just be faithful to me" - it's Love Is Pain, and the synth ballad is back with a glorious harmonies and another despondent lyrical message. Now this really could be a single with some amazing remixes. It gets rather excellent at 2m50s with the "love is pain a oh oh oh you're insane" refrain repeating over the disco beat to fade. Bonkersosity pop is back with Miss You Bow Wow, a frenetic tune that like one of those roller coasters that catapults you off at a ridiculous speed, gets going straight away and never lets up with four distinct separate parts of the song and each one most pleasing. Love the "do do do/999" symmetry refrain just before the chorus hits. More craziness follows as the Girls get their ragamuffin styl-ee on for Revolution In The Head, a dancefloor Sean Paul style song that really jarred me first time I heard it. It's definitely out their comfort zone, and is actually quite moreish in the sort of way that forces your head to turn to watch an accident on the motorway. Horrific or amazing, i'm not sure yet, but certainly an interesting addition to a fine album. Live In The Country considers the alternatives to city living, with a more laid back pace of life. The music (an incessant drum beat that never lets up) mirrors the stresses of the city, while the vocals in the chorus are more relaxed to represent the country life. Really it's little things like that which please me no end! "I want a stall at the fate selling strawberry shortcakes"... GENIUS! On their fifth studio album the Girls prove that they are still a pop act to get excited about and can still deliver the goods when most others have packed up and gone home. marvy.
Potential singles: The Promise; The Loving Kind; Love Is Pain; Untouchable

Sugababes - Catfights and Spotlights:
Reviewing La Babes right after the epic Girls Aloud album puts them at a distinct disadvantage. So I need to state that I really do like the Sugababes, and think this album is fairly solid. However, they do seem to have turned into Westlife lately - not in any musical sense of the word, more in the fact that they seem to be taken for granted right now. There is no real buzz around their music (whereas Girls Aloud albums still seem to generate an awful lot of excitement) and they can be relied on to put out solid tunes pretty much every Christmas. And there's not much love among the media for this album of soulful sixties style tunes, but if you give it a chance there is enough in there to power the babes through til this time next year. The brassy sound of Allan Toussaint's Here Come The Girls sampling single "Girls" divided fans who wanted something a little more babes a little less Girls. However, I still maintain it is a great party track and probably indulges the trio of their soulful leanings. And as a representation of the most powerful tracks on their album, it's spot on. Check out You On A Good Day which evokes memories of every girl group going in the halcyon days of the Supremes, Chiffons et al. It's all Ronson-esque production, trumpeted horns and euphoric piano tinklings to deliver a spiffing slice of pop. Alleged second single No Can Do embraces the funk and has perhaps the poppiest introduction to a song this side of The Promise. The chorus is pure Osmonds 'One Bad Apple' in the 70s rather than the 60s and about as sugary as you can get without going diabetic. It totally works though. Sunday Rain piles on the melodrama with sweeping strings, relentless beat and verses that build up into the sunday rain refrain. I've always been a bit hit and miss over the Babes ballads, but this one is up there with the best and harks back to the epic work done on the first album. Plus anyone who says that Amelle is pulling her weight, post Mutya, clearly isn't listening to this track. Every Heart Broken starts off as a gorgeous gentle acoustic piano ballad, before a cello brings in another dimension with some added harmonies. Instruments are added carefully to add more depth to the song, but it's the girls vocals and the bittersweet lyrics that are the winning aspects here of perhaps the most beautiful track they have ever recorded. Certainly a huge highlight of the album and one that gets me rushing to the repeat button every time I hear it. Can We Call A Truce is another mature ballad that pinches a bit of the classical tune Canon in it's backing but works well alongside the other highlights of the album. Sadly, the rest didn't overly appeal to me - too many bland tracks that weren't exciting enough to leap out at me yet. Still i doubt it's over for the Sugababes unless they say it is, and a simply gorgeous note perfect acoustic version of the still epic About You Now reminds of what they have achieved over the past 9 years.
Potential singles: Girls; Every Heart Broken; No Can Do; You On A Good Day

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