Time Out

 

In their five-year, multi million-selling career, Girls Aloud have pulled off (so to speak) a pretty mean feat: namely, that they straddle two wildly different camps of what is considered ‘cool’. Girls Aloud are equally adored by the Primark-buying, ringtone-downloading, Ant ’n’ Dec watching general public, as they are by high-falutin’, long-word-wielding, ‘high-brow’ critics. My, what magic it is they weave.

 

And fifth album, ‘Tangled Up’, is sure to be no exception. It’s produced by the British production team Xenomania (who have masterminded all of GA’s LPs, as well as Cher’s ‘Believe’), whose name apparently means ‘an openness and a love of all cultures and influences’. Here, that means that you get an eye-watering array of genres cleverly thrown into the mix, from the clingfilm-flimsy reggae of ‘Control Of The Knife’, to the trebly drum ’n’ bass of ‘What You Crying For’, up to the fuzzy, modern-Motown strut of ‘Can’t Speak French’. For the music nerd, it’s a knickerbocker glory of a treat, with cherries and nuts on top.

 

And then – for the pissed-up girls roaming city streets coatless and shag-hungry on a Saturday night, there is ‘Fling’ – a rock-riffed call-to-arms which features the righteously squawked chorus, ‘It’s just a fling baby, a bit of ding-a-ling baby, bling baby’. Video-gaming, porn-downloading teenage boys will go for ‘I’m Falling’ with its aggro, ‘Smack My b**ch Up’-style tech-pop and processed coos and squeals.

 

Fun for everyone then? Not exactly. The tunes are there, certainly: the Girls’ seventeenth single-in-waiting, ‘Call The Shots’, is a magnificent piece of melancholy gym pop and ‘Black Jacks’ is sublimely melodic. But there’s one thing the album falls short on, and that’s a sense of the girls themselves actually having fun; or indeed feeling anything at all. Aesthetically, their voices blend fine, but it’s hard to find any real character; a rasp, a gasp, a laugh, even. Like their (deliberately) robotic dance moves, there isn’t a lot of Girls Aloud that comes across as human or red-blooded (unlike the distinctly muscular, lip-smacking Britney album). In this respect, Girls Aloud are the aural equivalent of the perfect murder, leaving behind no trace that ever they were there.

 

 

3/6

The Sun

 

DO we really care about the new Spice Girls single or reunion tour? No, not when Girls Aloud are still around.

 

The fact they are still at the top of their game with a fifth album puts the Spices, who only did two decent albums, to shame.

 

As always they team up with pop masterminds Xenomania but this time the result is a more ballsy sound.

 

Call The Shots has an addictive chorus. Girl Overboard retains the same clubby vibe and the thumping Black Jacks is melodic magic. Control Of The Knife is a feisty two-finger salute to rubbish blokes. Long may they reign!JS

 

 

Reasonably good reviews in the main, though some of them speak utter sh!t, and nearly all fail to mention Girl Overboard as the blindingly obvious highlight. -_-

NME

 

Breakbeat symphonies, new rave ballads, clubbing nightmares - yes, Girls Aloud's career has been marked by genre-hopping, and lots and lots of fake tan. The magic dust they sprinkled on the Top 40 has now fallen into the fabric of music and 'Tangled Up' will continue the trend. Highlights 'Fling' and 'Can't Speak French' are unbeatable future pop hits

 

7/10

 

NME gave it 7/10 :o They're going soft :lol:

01- Call The Shots- 10/10 :wub:

02- Close to Love- 9/10

03- Sexy! No No No- 8/10

04- Girl Overboard- 9.5/10 :heart:

05- Cant Speak French- 10/10 :wub: JUST AMAZE

06- Control Of The Knife- 9/10

07- Black Jacks- 8.5/10

08- Fling- 7/10

09- What You Crying For- 7/10

10- I'm Falling- 8.5/10

11- Damn- 8/10

12- Crocodile Tears- 7.5/10

 

Love it. JUST AMAZING.

 

Top Songs-

Call The Shots

Close to Love

Girl Overboard

Can't Speak French

Control Of The Knife

Black Jacks

Edited November 19, 200717 yr by Rudolph

Put it in your sigs and stuff, we want this to be a big seller!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow I've read the whole of it, but it sounds like very positive reviews ^^

I still haven't got mine :o :(

They were at my local radio station today promoting the album :D

well two of them anyway :unsure: lol

lol wat two? , kimba and cheryl would be the best two!

it was one of them and nadine i think, not sure for definite though i was too busy getting ready lol

My favourite on this album keeps changing. Its now "Close To Love" :wub:

 

This is probably my album of the year!

Are there any bonus tracks, minus Mixed Up?

no :(

 

I miss my dose of bonus tracks. 12 tracks never seems enough :lol: At least it's 12 tracks of pure pop perfection! :wub:

Exactly :P

 

Plus I'm so in love with Fling, it has to be next single, I would buy 50.000 copies to make it to #1!!! lmao

 

And most songs are growing on me soooooo much!

What would you like the girls to release next??

 

For me :

 

Sexy! No no no

Call the shots

Fling

Crocodile tears

I want it to be 'Fling' next and the b-side 'Control The Knife/Blackjack'.

Control Of The Knife should def. be next

or Close To Love

or Girl Overboard :D

My little review ^_^:

 

Call The Shots - I was disappointed with this the first time I heard it, it seemed to miss that Girls Aloud sound, but it's grown on me so much - 9/10

Close To Love - Insanely good fun, and I love "Everything I ever had to lose is standing in the way of me and you" - really funky - 9/10

Sexy, No No No... - My least favourite on the album I think, I have no idea why this was chosen for the lead single. 5/10

Girl Overboard - Another great song from the girls, one of my top 4 favourites - 10/10

Can't Speak French - Another favourite. I wanted to say this reminded me of another GA song, but I don't know which one. It's still got that GA feeling, while still being totally original. Really great. 9/10

Black Jacks - Quite nice, but there's something missing for me, I'm not sure what, though. I don't think I like the Avril-like chant in the middle 6/10

Control of the Knife - This might be my favourite, tied with GO and Fling - 10/10

Fling - Outrageous, and brilliant. 10/10

What You Crying For? - Pretty good, really nice vibe 8/10

I'm Falling - I hoped this would do for me with GA what Stronger did for me with Britney, just instant love, but I was wrong. I love the beginning, but I think the rest is only good. 8/10

Damn - Reminds me a lot of Real Life - very good 9/10

Crocodile Tears - Some really nice vocals on this I think 8/10

 

Overall - 9/10. It's great to see the girls still going strong with this album, and it's hard to listen to it and think they came from the same sort of place as Hope :lol: It's a different league.

 

Potential Singles: Can't Speak French, Fling, Control of the Knife, Girl Overboard. Maybe Damn and Crocodile Tears.

Edited November 24, 200717 yr by Andrewy