5 Girls + 4 Great Songs + 9 Average Songs = Chemistry (Chemistry - Girls Aloud)

Member Name: GramiWay

Product:	Chemistry - Girls Aloud
Date:	09/08/09 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good production, tracks like 'Wild Horses' & 'Biology'

Disadvantages: Inconsistant both musically and vocally, a lot of filler tracks

'Chemistry' is the third studio album from arguably Britain's biggest girl band Girls Aloud. However, at the time of this album's release there was a lot of speculation that the group wouldn't be around much longer due to its poor sales and a rather dismal performance of its singles. Thankfully the girls proved their critics wrong and have continued to make brilliant pop music.

I'm a huge fan of Girls Aloud and I brought their first three albums as their singles are consistently strong and catchy pieces of music. However, after hearing 'Chemistry' in its entirety, I have given up delving into the rest of their studio releases due to the fact that I realised that behind these excellent singles, the girls just tend to produce albums that are full of filler and songs that lack the same punch that their major hits do [with a few exceptions obviously].

The cover of this album also put me off slightly. It's just an innocent and simple photograph of the band together looking all comfortable and cosy but the facial expressions and head arrangements beg to differ. It's actually a bit creepy and if this is what their group 'chemistry' looks like, then I pray to God I never get caught in the middle of it...

Anyway the CD itself is packed full of some rather vibrant and infectious moments and then some rather experimentive tracks that don't really produce the required result. Girls Aloud haven't strayed from their usual formula of upbeat pop and the production team Xenomania are at the helm of most of the record's big tracks as are the team of writers that pop up on a regular basis in the band's album credits. However, despite this safe and repetitive partnership each Girls Aloud album seems to progress in sound and maturity and 'Chemistry' is no exception with the music already sounding light years away from their last album 'What Will The Neighbours Say' but not quite reaching the more mid tempo, electro vibe that was so evident on 2007's follow up 'Tangled Up'.

The 'Intro' is barely a minute long and is just a warm up to the first actual track 'Models'. This is classic Girls Aloud with its distinct feel and fast paced beat. Vocally it's not up to much but the lyrics are witty and clever and the song has enough momentum to stick in your head all day.

And at the core of their career that's what Girls Aloud manage. They may not write their own material or play instruments but they do add a sense of style to their songs which like or not, you will be humming them over and over again. 'Biology' is an energetic and musically scattered track that works so well. On first listen you think to yourself that the verses and chorus are all over the place and this is just some random mess that hasn't been mixed properly but the girls' vocals work in sync with each other as Nadine, Sarah and Nicola take on the stronger parts of the song whilst Kimberly and Cheryl have the sultry and seductive lines. 'Biology' creates a ferocious whirlpool of musical indulgence and is one of Girls Aloud's finest hours and its beauty lies in the uniqueness of the track.

'Wild Horses' is one of my personal favourites. The vocals take on a bitter and twisted edge and the stinging, electro-rock fuelled chorus just bounces off the walls and into your brain. There's an urgency and a deep seated anger to the track that comes out amazingly in the girl's voices though the fact that again they seem to 'speak' the verses is very off-putting.

'See The Day' and 'Whole Lotta History' are the ballads of the album with the latter continuing the school subject theme [shame they didn't include Psychics somehow]. 'Whole Lotta History' is a beautiful string led ballad that is vocally weak in places [Kimberly, Cheryl and Nicola don't suit the song in my opinion] but is a vulnerable and emotional track that stands out from anything else on the CD due to it being so different to anything the band has produced before.

'See The Day', on the other hand is a poor imitation of the Dee. C. Lee song and is bland from start to finish. It has a faint Christmas feel to it due to the production but I just don't feel the song and find myself wanting it to end as soon as possible rather than trying to get into it.

After a strong start the album descends into boredomville in is second half. There's nothing wrong with the songs they just seem very flat and are nothing to get that excited about. The lyrics are extremely sexy and the girls try to get that across in the way they sing the songs. This is most notable on 'Swinging London Town' and 'Racy Lacey', both again are new directions for the band's music but don't really seem to work that well.

'Long Hot Summer' is the last major song on the album and even that tends to fall on death ears as the production and harmonies are a bit tacky and the 'rap' part from Nadine is just cringe worthy. It's obvious that the girls are trying to pocket their music into as many different styles as possible but in this respect, straying from the formula doesn't work as well as it does on later offerings.

This mish mash drive course through various genres and such makes the whole feel of the album seem rather scattered and their insistence to 'speak' parts of their songs really leaves a lot up the melody and production to save them, something which fails epically on the futuristic sounding 'It's Magic' which builds up to its climax for so long when the song actually does get good you'll probably have switched off completely.

'Chemistry' will no doubt please the fanatic and irritating Girls Aloud fanbase no end but for the casual buyer, only a few tracks really warrant any attention and chances are you'd have heard over half of those on the radio. It shows minor development both in the vocal, lyrical and production area but leaves little to the imagination. It's almost as the band and those around them had run out of ideas at this point and got the wagon rolling again a year or so later. 'Chemistry' does pick apart the Girls Aloud formula and leaves a rather watered down taste in its wake.


Complete Track listing:

01 - Intro
02 - Models
03 - Biology
04 - Wild Horses
05 - See The Day
06 - Watch Me Go
07 - Waiting
08 - Whole Lotta History
09 - Long Hot Summer
10 - Swinging London Town
11 - It's Magic
12 - No Regrets
13 - Racy Lacy

Summary: A disappointing album that is begging for a track named 'Psychics'!