If the rumours are true, then this is the last we'll hear from S Club. It would appear that the band have grown-up and with the S Club Juniors coming along to terrorise a whole new generation, it's no surprise that Jo, Hannah, Jon, Bradley, Rachel and Tina would want to move on to new challenges such as TV presenting and hard drugs. They will be missed, Indeed, despite being the scapegoats for anybody wanting to diss the occasional genius of manufactured pop music, last year's 'Don't Stop Movin'' proved to be the single of the year whoever you were.
'Seeing Double' features several tracks to be taken from the band's first film of the same name - the plot revolving around the members of the band being cloned by an evil scientist (like, original) - and a leap on to the big screen after the Miami/ LA/ Berlin/ Soweto based TV series.
Kicking-off with the nu-disco blend-up of top single 'Alive' and groovers such as 'Whole Lotta Nothin'', the Madonna-esque 'Dance' and 'Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You', 'Seeing Double' is already the best - and the most energetic - teen-pop album of the year. The saucy 'Hey Kitty Kitty' is sex for the CBBC generation and 'The Greatest' is splendid, in a starts-to-grate-a-bit kinda way, but there's a top, bubblin' version of Robert Palmer's 'Every Kinda People', which is about as near to a 'What's Going On' as you can get. All this and possibly the most effeminate song ever to be called 'Gangsta Love' too.
As with previous S Club releases, not having the skill to backflip like Jon or win sexy polls like Rachel, the vocals end up being mainly down to Jo, without whom, S Club would be nothing. Bradley comes in to lend proceedings a vaguely street element, with the main flavour wandering around lite boogie throughout, being nearer to recent Kylie than classic Steps.
At 16 tracks, 'Seeing Double' does go on a bit, but rarely outstays it's welcome. Overall, it's a listenable grown-up affair, that doesn't demand the group whip-out guitars and grow beards to prove their new adult direction. Surprisingly marvellous.
