girlsaloud_chemistry music reviews Virgin Media
Given that the Girls' sophomore LP, What Will The Neighbours Say?, was released a mere 12 months ago, again nicely timed to coincide with the pre-Christmas buying frenzy, the more cynical amongst you may assume that Chemistry was delivered in haste at the cost of quality. Girls Aloud devotees can breathe easy, though, because production team Xenomania have once again surpassed themselves in creating an album bursting like an over-stuffed turkey with invention, quirky lyrics, tongue-in-cheek sauciness and, above all, a formula which effortlessly appeals to grown-up pop fans and music critics as well as to the teenyboppers.
Forget the obligatory Christmas ballad (a fairly pallid cover of DC Lee's See The Day) - recent multi-tempo single Biology is the most faithful to this album's spirit of innovation, blending the kind of saucy cabaret you'd expect to find in a gin-soaked saloon bar with a glorious chorus of fizzing, gliding synths and deceptively breakneck beats.
Self-conscious references to the Eighties abound, particularly in the flashy, synth-heavy Models and Swinging London Town; elsewhere, Xenomania squeeze every ounce of entertainment value out of the girls as they turn rappers, choristers and even train impersonators (seriously) on Wild Horses. For this reviewer, though, the album's hidden highlight is the weighty, sultry electro-pop of It's Magic, a song layered with beautifully enticing synth melodies and sung entirely by the much-maligned Nicola.
Forget The Pussycat Dolls' insipid pop by numbers - if you're thirsting for pop music that goes the extra mile, Chemistry is a winning formula.
