Doll Domination [CD]

Being a big fan of fun pop that I can dance to, I loved the Dolls' first album PCD. It's not exactly music that will change the world but it was shimmery, glittery and slick pop that covered an eclectic range of styles from hip hop to burlesque and never bored. As such, I had high hopes for Doll Domination. Nicole has a wonderful voice, and with the 'it' team of hot producers on board I felt all looked bright.

Well... I can't say I dislike this album, but it didn't match my expectations. The promised lead vocals from the other Dolls do not appear on the UK version, this is the Nicole show and after a while it all starts to sound the same. Where Carmit and Melody got a look in before now nobody does (Carmit has since left the group) and the whole thing might as well be Nicole's solo album. In that respect, it feels overindulgent and unbalanced - they could do with putting the others on the mike once in a while, her power vocals get a little grating after a while and that unfairly detracts from Nicole's genuine talent. The feeling that if you've heard one you've heard them all isn't helped by the fact that for a dance troupe it's extremely ballad/mid tempo heavy. The overall pace is pretty slow and that doesn't do it any favours; it needs a few of the filler ballads cut to give it some edge back. What also doesn't help is that it has lost the eccentricity of their debut one - by choosing the same urban producers as everyone else now they're firmly in one genre and it all just adds to this 'samey' feeling that you get after a while of listening to it. When the Dolls first came out they were something a little different... now they're just fitting the mould.

That's not to say it's no good though - I Hate This Part is a great song, there are still a couple of stompers on there and the Ne-yo written Happily Never After is lovely. The production's slick, and when it's hot it's hot. My personal favourite is the sassy 'Whatcha Think About That,' a kiss off for an ex to let him know he'll be getting a taste of his own medicine.

Overall I'd say this album was fine, but they can and have done better. They need to mix it up and turn it up next time around.

When i first brought this album, i had to listen to it quite a few times for the songs to grow on me-thats because the sounds are new and a little different. They are mostly catchy but quite a few are very mediocre and so after playing them a few times, just boring and annoying. There are some really bassey tracks with catchey tunes which are great for the happy sunshine days cruzing in your car. Some of the lyrics are cool and generally its a fun album. But the high use of repetition of lyrics and tunes in alot of the songs which dont have a catchy enough tune stops it from being a generally brilliant album. Its still sexy and cool tho!

The Animal Kingdom is full of sound. From the smallest single-celled creature,(Groove Amoeba) to the magnificent mountainous mass of the great Blue Whale,there is a world of elusive and exotic cadence lurking behind every beak, snout, proboscis mouth and muzzle. Sometimes within,sometimes beyond our range of hearing. Bird, fish, reptile, insect all enriching our experience with songs of almost infinite variation.

With the Pussycat Dolls' new album 'Doll Domination', however, evolution asserts its' own magisterial influence in a wholly winning way.

Make no mistake - Mammals make the best music !

These five fine examples of their species deport themselves here with addictive aplomb.

Marlon Mole thinks that the project is nothing more than a vehicle for
Ms Sherzinger's self-evident talents.
Lorna Ladybug considers it unseemly that these young ladies find it
acceptable to cavort wildly in their undergarments on National Television.
(Scatty and Gritz, the cubs, are wholly unperturbed by this
red-blooded behavior - they are in fact positively enthusiastic about it !! ).

Frankly the entire population of The Home Forest would appear to be divided on this one !
Words such as "product", "vapid", "shallow' and "fake" have been bandied about wantonly.

... BUT ! ... If "product" it is it must be said that Pussycat Dolls give Very Good Product indeed !

18 Songs - one or two a little on the mediocre side but on the whole a more than worthy showing.
Writing, production and performance coalesce in an almost organic way to reveal one of the year's most surprisingly uplifting albums.

Ms Sherzinger does of course have a magnificent voice and it is entirely correct that the spotlight should place her at the centre of the stage but her cohorts and guests, including the estimable Madam Elliot, Mr Dogg, Mr Kelly and various young gentlemen from The Block (among others), add surreal credibility to the overall impact of the entertainment.

Highlights include : "I Hate This Part" ( Ms S. at her very best ); the chugging urban clatter of "Takin' Over The World" ( Giving Destiny's Child a worthy run for their money ); "Out Of This Club", a slinky dancefloor smooch; "Whatchamacallit", a cracking dancefloor stormer and the throwaway but faithfully ebullient closing track "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps".

Heck ! Truth be told The Wolf loved it all !

Highly Recommended.