Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 08/10/07
Label: Island

Well, that's torn it. We could have forgiven them that charity cover with Girls Aloud, the loss of Mutya, even "Ugly" (just). But this will not stand. The Sugababes have officially gone sh*t. "Change", in this case, is not as good as a rest; it really is a shame to follow-up such a storming best of as "Overloaded" with this wet weekend of an album.

Perhaps our ladies are feeling overshadowed by newer, younger models, or maybe they feel that as a mature pop act in their 20s they should be appealing more to a "Sex & The City"-loving market that gets its musical pointers from New Woman. But where they once sounded hard-edged and hard-faced and wrote identifiably honest lyrics about the life of a young (albeit rich and famous) woman in the modern UK, now they sound dated, slack and fluffy, dripping one-size-fits all power-balladeering clichés all over their fifth album.

While it would get a bit tiresome if all their lyrics were groin-kicking you-ain't-all-that kiss offs, sodden simperings like "I turned my back on love / I switched off at the mains / I cried night and day cause it was over", on the horribly limp "Mended By You" are more the sort of thing you'd expect from Atomic Kitten than the 'Babes. Get a grip, ladies! These after all, are the girls that once delivered lines like "Got such a pretty kitten / Boy you know you wanna pet it", as coolly as if they were buying a bus ticket.

The disappointment of current UK chart-topper "About You Now" was tempered by the knowledge that the Sugababes are the rarest of pop animals, the girl group with album tracks that are frequently the equal of their singles. To then find out it's one of the best tracks here is a bitter blow. Its brittle beat and cool synths at least proffer a hint of edge, even if it is eerily similar to Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone".

Amelle is a fine substitute for Mutya, with an aggressive vocal punch to match her tabloid reputation. Keisha remains the vocal heart of the group, but it's Heidi who always has to overegg the pudding with her over-mannered, overwrought style, as on the aptly named "Undignified". The dancehall-lite "Backdown" is definitely the standout, with those Xenomania synths to the fore, while the check-me-the-f*ck-out glammy strut of "3 Spoons Of Suga" also finds them on stronger footing.

The bizarre "My Love Is Pink" is the most dancefloor-bound number, but the impact is blunted by the lyrics, which are odd rather than filthy. The title track, meanwhile, is just plain awful, a limper retread of "Stronger" with little to recommend it apart from the moment it stops. The Sugababes probably think they've grown up. Sadly, they're just growing duller in more ways.

    by Emily Mackay