Girls Aloud : Releases >>

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Tangled Up >>

Watch your backs, people, for the armour-plated Girls Aloud stretch hit-machine is swinging in to dock again and it will not wait for you to move out of the way. Au contraire--it literally has you in its full-beams. The girl group that many had, as a matter of course, written off the moment the TV talent show they won ceased transmission, hit the ground dancing furiously with album number four, covering as dizzying a myriad of styles as we have grown accustomed to, courtesy of celebrated pop production house Xenomania, with all the propulsive force of a freshly cracked atom (and the ability to still apply their make up without smudging). Tangled Up is draped in neon with strobe lights matching every throb of its very up-for-it pulse--there's plenty for clubland to get excited about from the sleek Kylie-esque "Call the Shots", 80s chart-house of "Girl Overboard" and full-on drum `n' bass (with not a hint of irony) on `What You Crying For'. Elsewhere the likes of the excellent styled disco "Can't Speak French", Gwen Stefani overtones on the irresistible "Black Jacks" and vocoder future-power-funk of "Sexy! No No No..." amount to some of the best material they've released. If you wanted to be critical you could deem them mere mannequins off which these peerlessly crafted songs hang, but everything's such a perfect fit those complaints seem moot. Sets a high benchmark for pop music in 2007. --James Berry

The Sound of Girls Aloud >>

Ever since they trounced rival boy band One True Voice in the 2002 final of Popstars (The Rivals), Girls Aloud have gone from strength to strength, blasting their way into the charts with every new release, even trashing The Spice Girl's record of 10 Top Ten singles with their own new record of 12 (and counting). The time is thus ripe for a Best Of anthology, which is exactly what The Sound Of Girls Aloud is. Raiding the quintet's three albums to date (Sound Of The Underground, What Will The Neighbours Say? and Chemistry) the collection offers all twelve of the band's chart-smashes to date, from early, breakthrough tracks (the surf-guitar-riding "Sound Of The Underground" and the wannabe spy-movie theme "No Good Advice"), their cover versions (of the Pointer Sister's "Jump" and The Pretender's ballad "I'll Stand By You", and other GA faves like "Love Machine", "Long Hot Summer", "Biology", "The Show" and "Whole Lotta History". There are four new tracks, including the catchy new single, "Something Kinda Ooooh", and the Limited Edition version features demo versions of "See The Day" and "Biology" and additional unreleased material. -- Danny McKenna

Chemistry >>

Girls Aloud- The Greatest Hits Live From Wembley Arena [2006] >>

What Will the Neighbours Say? >>

Sound Of The Underground >>

Can't Speak French >>

Call The Shots [CD 2] >>

Sound of the Underground >>

It's already too easy to prepare an obituary for Girls Aloud even before the release of their debut, Sound of the Underground, what with the inevitable backlash against reality pop TV, a cancelled tour due to poor ticket sales and "that" arrest in a night club. Despite originating from the same television programme as Hear'Say, the girls seem to have learned at least one lesson from Myleene and co--you can't rush record a decent album in five minutes if you want to be in the public eye for more than two minutes.

Although unimaginatively named after their UK Christmas 2002 smash, the album is an enjoyable and surprising journey through the most popular styles of contemporary pop. Following Kylie's successful revisiting of electro-pop, many of the tracks make the most of this revitalised sound, particularly the Fuzzbox-inspired "No Good Advice" and the playfully titled "Girls Allowed". A hybrid of Sub Sub and Deee-Lite, "Love Bomb" pays homage to early-90s dance, while "Some Kind of Miracle" is a more conventional, ageless pop tune. With a title such as "Stop" many will make comparisons with the Spice Girls, however the Girls Aloud track is a rockier Transvision Vamp-style anthem. "Don't Want You Back" is another pop-rock track in the vein of those new millennium madams Madison. Top marks to the girls for coming up with an album that succeeds far more than anyone could have predicted. --John Galilee