CD Reviews

Girls Aloud Tangled Up Fascination Records / 2007 ♥♥♥♥	Originating as a sinfully melodic fancy from the head of music producer Brian Higgins, Xenomania, like a turbulent pop music epidemic, has infected our English brethren across the Atlantic with no signs of letting up. Flushed with the finest fragments of teary balladry and frenzied drum and bass, it causes your heart to flutter, as your body shimmies and shakes. Beware of carriers: beautiful, angelically voiced U.K. girl groups. If infected: turn the volume up! Girls Aloud, current holders of the title “greatest girl group in the world,” have transcended the stigma of being manufactured on a reality show, by teaming with Xenomania, a leading pop music production house, to create the most progressive, imaginative pop music of the 21st century. This brilliant experimentation continues on Tangled Up, Girls Aloud’s fourth studio album (entirely produced by Xenomania), as illustrated on the funky post-punk of “Fling,” and the diverse, rebellious “Black Jacks” (“come and get stuck in!”), evoking their classic, subversive track “Biology.” This is not to forget the memorably uncouth lead single “Sexy! No, No, No . . . ,” which flouts contemporary pop music norms by forgoing a lazy, generic hook, instead bracing the listener with a bombardment of warped guitars, synths, and vocals. Tangled Up continues the group’s pop supremacy with it representing only a slight step down from their last effort, the conceptual pop masterpiece Chemistry (2005). — Ajitpaul Mangat, staff
Sugababes Change Phantom Sound and Vision / 2007 ♥♥♥	Sugababes, the No. 1 contender for girl group supremacy, have similarly transcended obstacles (line-up changes) to survive and thrive in the mercurial pop music industry. Sugababes’ latest effort, Change, finds the group employing an array of producers with just two penned by usual collaborators, Xenomania: the introspectively gloomy “Never Gonna Dance Again” (“As the final record starts to fade, I feel the dance floor turning colder”) and the filthy, frantic “My Love Is Pink.” As with previous Sugababes album, the Xenomania tracks prove to be among the finest on the album. The rest of the album is a hit-and-miss affair with highlights like the “Since U Been Gone”-esque “About You Now,” and the subversive “Denial,” countered with the tired ’90s R&B of “Back When,” and “Open The Door.” In the past, collaborations with Xenomania have proven to be successful for Sugababes, regularly producing their pre-eminent and most popular songs. Thus, Change, although a strong album, leaves the listener, ultimately, disappointed, as they are left with the worst kind of infection: Xenomania withdrawal. — Ajitpaul Mangat, staff
Basia Bulat Oh My Darling Hardwood / Rough Trade / 2007 ♥♥♥♥♥	My recent review of the new Christine Fellows album accidentally carried a five-star rating when I had given it four-and-a-half stars. Rest assured, the five-star rating here is no misprint. I rarely award such a rating, but Oh My Darling is phenomenally deserving. Bulat first came to my attention early this year, when a music director at a campus station in Ontario told me to check her out. Shortly thereafter, Bulat signed to the venerable Rough Trade label in the United Kingdom, but domestic distribution eluded Canadian music fans until Hardwood (Hayden, Cuff the Duke) picked it up this fall. No matter how long it took to be heard in her home country, Bulat’s album was worth the wait. The arrangements range from a minimalist opener (“Before I Knew”) to grandly orchestrated (“Snakes and Ladders” and “In the Night”) folk-tinged pop, while Bulat’s piercingly honest and direct vocals remain a constant. The honesty in her voice is especially important when she delivers lyrics that include allusions to green leaves that, like love, eventually lose their lustre. In other hands, these would seem cloying, but with Bulat they’re entirely credible. There is not a single wrong note or misstep on this album, which, in just under 40 minutes, packs a baker’s dozen worth of songs in. Each successive listen leaves me with a new favourite and an appreciation of just how flawless Oh My Darling is. — Michael Elves, volunteer staff