Girls Aloud
Tangled Up

THE REVIEW

Musically speaking, the advent of the new millennium has virtually erased any trend label that in the very last decades of the '90s almost strictly classified tastes, preferences, and myths; just to mention the closing twenty years of the "short century," the '80s saw the rampant dichotomy of glittery pop and glam rock (both perfectly aligned in terms of clothing and accessories, ed.), while in the '90s, the dark grunge-alternative theater of the early years was countered by the frivolous (and sometimes banal and fake) simplicity—almost childish—of boy/girl bands, as well as new adults fresh out of overseas college benches. The 2000s and onwards, on the contrary, have not managed to produce a univocal or at least specifically sectorial musical effigy: the pop bandwagon continued with the legacy of mainstream veterans up to the current electro-trash orientation, rock hardness expressed gothic, neo-glam, post-grunge, and pseudo-alternative inspirations, while the black sector produced some hip-hop/R&B representatives increasingly oriented towards owning sumptuous villas in West Hollywood rather than defending the interests of the ghetto.

A typical element of the '00s is, however, the (almost) complete disappearance of the glitter of girl/boy bands, after the brief yet great splendors of the end of the century: the Spice Girls chose the bland path of a solo career, the Backstreet had to face the first wrinkles and silver strands, but even minor representatives like All Saints et similia didn't continue on the path to the pop Olympus. Nonetheless, there have been notable exceptions, foremost among them the five hot Pussycat Dolls with Miss Nicole Scherzinger in Hamilton, who (at least until a few years ago) compensated for the lack of vocal performance of the other four.

Leaving aside the trashy American statuesque figures, one must once again turn to Great Britain to capture one last drop of that distilled girl-group essence that flooded charts and stages thanks to the legendary Spice Girls. I would, therefore, like to introduce the very "English" Girls Aloud, born in 2002 thanks to the proto-talent show "Popstars - The Rival": led by that concentrate of beauty and sensuality that is Cheryl Cole (ex-wife of the unfaithful footballer Ashley), the Girls Aloud established themselves almost exclusively in the anglophone music scene, rarely crossing the English Channel. Despite their limited success, over the past decade, the girls have produced a series of simple pop albums, refined and never loud, also completely removed from the recent trash dance trend. Combining a cabaret-theatrical to burlesque style with the sound of famous and established producers (including Xenomania, the author of Kylie Minogue's latest works), the Girls managed to distinguish themselves from the exaggerated eroticism of the fellow Dolls, developing a decently sober image, rarely extravagant and never excessive, without falling into the teen-pop naivety of the "teachers" Spice.

"Tangled Up", the fourth studio album released in 2007, marks a fundamental turning point in the Aloud's musical style. Departing from the purely funky-dance sound, with modest rock and power pop hues, Cheryl Cole & company aim for a more electronic and robotic sound, yet always geared towards simplicity and sobriety, in line with the mood dictated by Minogue's contemporary masterpiece, X (of which, moreover, shared the production team Xenomania). The cheerful-funk component of their beginnings remains unchanged: the first single Sexy? No No No... is the most emblematic demonstration, a powerful and frenetic electro-punk track with an omnipresent atmosphere of theatricality and playfulness that anticipates the circus parade mood of Control Of The Knife. An Europop air of ellis-bextorian inspiration can be felt in the romantic Call The Shots, the "rocking" Close To Love and Fling and in Girl Overboard, a tribute to the evergreen '90s house. Worth mentioning are also further funky-dance expressions in Damn and Can't Speak French.

An album without too many frills, simple to enjoy and immediate to assimilate. And for all those who have a hunger & thirst for sexy and suggestive girl groups (but not tacky and trashy), this is the right ground to lay the foundations for a new Spice-like season.

Girls Aloud, "Tangled Up"

Call The Shots - Close To Love - Sexy? No No No... - Girl Overboard - Can't Speak French - Black Jacks - Control Of The Knife - Fling - What You Crying For - I'm Falling - Damn - Crocodile Tears.