Out Of Control!!!! (Out Of Control - Girls Aloud)

Member Name: Tail_Feather

Product:	Out Of Control - Girls Aloud
Date:	24/06/09 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No dreary ballads

Disadvantages: 1 or 2 missable tracks

Hot on the heels of Cheryl Cole's successful turn as judge/mentor on the X-Factor, came Girl's Aloud's most recent album. Another bundle of ridiculously catchy pop tunes from the ladies who broke out of their 'Reality TV Winners' shell and 6 years later are more popular than ever. As with most albums, a few tracks are not quite up to the standards of the rest, but overall this is a great follow up to their, in my opinion, best album to date 'Tangled Up'.

'Out of Control' kicks off with number 1 single 'The Promise', a retro-sounding number, and quite Duffy/Winehouse-esque. 'The Loving Kind', co-written by the Pet Shop Boys, exquisitely shows off Nicola's gorgeous, delicate voice and somehow manages to sound melancholy and upbeat at the same time. 'Rolling Back the Rivers in Time' although seemingly a fan favourite is a track I usually skip past; perfectly pleasant but pretty unforgettable. 'Love is the Key' starts with a weird gothic type chorus before breaking into a fun county and western style ditty. For me, 'Turn to Stone' is fairly bland and another skip-able track. 'Untouchable' is widely described as an 'epic' and with it's soaring melody and fantastic lyrics, I would have to agree; although interestingly enough, this is the only Girls Aloud single not to have reached the top 10. 'Fix Me Up' is another entertaining track with it's cheeky lyrics (accompanied on tour by a spot of pole dancing). 'Love is Pain' doesn't really stand out but is worth a listen if only for Cheryl's chants of 'love is pain/you're insane'. 'Miss You Bow Wow' is my personal favourite; although the ridiculous title put me off at first, the bizarre lyrics and frquent rhythm changes had me hooked. 'Revolution in the Head' was another of my least favourites until I saw the girls perform it on the 'Out of Control Tour'; don't be put off by Nadine's odd mantra at the beginning. 'Live in the Country' is a fun track for it's kooky lyrics and animal noises, but seems like a bit of a novelty track to me. And finally we have 'We Wanna Party', written by Lene from 90s pop act Aqua. This one is a grower and will the chorus will get stuck in your head after a few listens.

Being a huge Girls Aloud fan, I would have praised this album no matter what. It's an exciting listen, emcompassing various different music styles, but for me, it doesn't quite beat the fabulous 'Tangled Up'.

Summary: Great pop from Girls Aloud, as always.