Somebody Say "Cock!" (Pop - Same Difference)

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Pop - Same Difference
Date:	15/12/08 (220 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Perfect for the High School Musical generation

Disadvantages: Not perfect for anyone older than thirteen

Same Difference is a brother and sister pop duo that came to fame on the fourth series of ITV's X-Factor. Originally described by Simon Cowell as "two of the most annoying people I've ever met", they went on to become favourites with the voting public and finished third overall. Pop is the duo's debut album.

The duo's appeal almost certainly stems from the fact that they respond to a huge demand for child/teen-friendly pop music, currently fulfilled by the likes of High School Musical and Britannia High. Clean, wholesome and utterly, utterly safe, these are pop stars with which your children's well being can be entrusted. It isn't rocket science, but proves how X-Factor success relies on a product for which there is an appetite; probably one of the reasons that Leon "faceless" Jackson has disappeared into the ether.

Pop yields no surprises. Comprising a combination of cover versions and original tracks, this is probably the safest debut album that you will ever hear. Much mention is made of the fact that there is something a little creepy about a brother/sister combination performing together. Certainly, musical history is not exactly littered with successful sibling acts, with The Carpenters probably the most successful (and only one of them actually sang, anyway.) The production team certainly had to make some careful choices here; it wouldn't go down terribly well if said brother and sister were heard to be singing of their undying love for one another in a romantic way. Instead, therefore, we have 12 songs about life, love, happiness and being really very nice about everything.

Vocally, the siblings are relatively compatible. Neither has a particularly powerful voice, nor is there anything particularly distinctive about them and at times it's really quite difficult to tell whether one is singing or both. The combination of male and female vocals has a similar effect to Steps, with the sound of Sarah's voice generally dominating her brother Sean (although, for me, he has the more natural, less saccharine-laced voice of the two and Sarah annunciates just a bit too much.)

Soundwise, Pop is almost exactly what you would expect. Think Steps meets High School Musical and you're pretty much there. One song drifts kind of purposelessly into the next one, the overall result being a fairly inoffensive and completely unmemorable exercise in niceness. For most adults, there is virtually no appeal here, but in all fairness this album isn't targeted at adults. Certainly, my niece (who's eight and for whom I downloaded this album) loves it and hasn't stopped playing it. The only other demographic that may enjoy some of this is probably the cheesier end of the gay crowd, but I doubt they'd ever admit it....

The cover versions notably include Breaking Free from High School Musical (very, erm, High School Musical), eighties cheese-fest Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (which actually works very well) and a more obscure song called I Need A House that was released by a Swedish singer who used to be in A*Teens (no, I don't remember them either). The album's only stroke of genius is the inclusion of a Stock Aitken Waterman cover version (remember what this did for Steps' career) with a very competent rendition of Kylie's Turn It Into Love. Release it as a single or be forever consigned to the dumper. The original songs are no more or less memorable than the cover versions. The next single, If You Can't Dance, could easily have been recorded by S Club 7 (it has one of those S-Club-like synthesised bits at the start) but if I had a favourite, I'd probably go for All The Roads To Heaven, given its slightly Abba-esque arrangement and (moderately) more mature sound.

The fact remains that Same Difference is so unbelievably nice that the siblings are both utterly infuriating. Credit where it's due, however, in that they have focused on a defined group of listeners and produced something that, whether adults like or not, those listeners love. This doesn't change the fact, however, that after more than about ten minutes' listening time, your average adult will feel compelled to go and do something dirty in protest.

Summary: X-Factor losers from 2007 in debut album shock