Sugarbabes – Catfights And Spotlights

• 23rd Oct 2008

The sixth studio album from the changeable Sugababes has gone all motown on us. Having put a strict ban on electropop and synths in an attempt to quite rightly mature their sound this collection is a different approach for the girls while still maintaining a distinctly Sugababes like sound.

When this album works it works well. You can’t deny the radio friendly sound of “Girls” even if it does get a little tiring with repeat listens. The second single from the album “No Can Do” is just as appealing but with a bit more attitude. Other gems the album has to offer includes “Sunday Rain”, a track that would make Dusty Springfield (or Duffy to that matter) proud and “You On A Good Day” where the girls show they are just as vulnerable to real losers as the rest of us. Much of the rest of the album has a rushed feeling to it, perhaps a nifty idea in the studio but when you hear it on an album it could have done with B-side status instead like the cringe-worthy “Hanging On A Star”. Don’t even start on the bonus tracks “She’s Like A Star” which has hardly any of the girls in it and a rather messy version of “About You Now”.

But even with these good points the girls have lost some of their sparkle this time round, whether it is the loss of the production team of Brian Higgins/Xenomania that have helped create some of their biggest hits in the past or their determination not to resort to pop. There is also the fact that this album was scheduled for a Spring 2009 release to allow them time to work on quality tracks, well it might seem harsh but the extra time could have helped make this album more than just another Sugababes album, after all they have yet to produce a definitive work despite their undeniably successful career.