Five albums in and Girls Aloud have done it again.
'Out Of Control' contains some of most exciting and intoxicating songs of their career while continuing to take pop music into places it’s never been before. From the moment they landed with 'Sound Of The Underground' through 'Biology' and 'Call The Shots' Girls Aloud have subverted the very structure of the pop song. With each single release they have made the genre more acceptable to a wider audience.
Their success is unique. Not only have they entered the Guinness Book of Records for the girl group with the most ever consecutive top ten singles, they have had the Arctic Monkeys cover one of their songs (‘Love Machine'). Not to mention the critical plaudits from the likes of NME and Franz Ferdinand. They are trailblazers who have consistently raised the bar and changed what it means to be a girlband in the 21st century. Experimenting with disparate genres has, most recently, lead to the likes of Coldplay's Chris Martin and Metronomy's Joseph Mount publicly stating they want to work with the girls.
'Out Of Control' comes hot on the heels of Girls Aloud’s third arena tour - the sold out 'Tangled Up' show and a critically acclaimed performance at the V Festival. Despite this constant stream of successes the band didn't feel any pressure working on 'Out Of Control'
"We were probably the most relaxed we’ve ever been but we still wanted to make this album the best we have ever done,” says Nadine.
Working again with the Xenomania team, the Girls have been constantly challenging themselves in the studio. As Kimberley says : "We want to impress the fans with what we do, so we've tried to up our game with this album and step outside the comfort zone."
Nadine adds: " Our aim from the beginning was to come up with songs that didn't sound like anything else out there."
It's with this maverick spirit that the fivesome came up with the album’s title. A spirited meeting with their record company led to someone commenting that the girls were 'out of control!'
"The title has an ironic slant," says Nicola "People think we're just out of control girls but actually we have loads of control over what we do."
Despite having completed a hugely successful sell out tour, the band didn't let that pressure impinge on their creative output. "We wanted to impress our fans but we didn't feel under pressure recording the album." says Sarah. "Yeah, we just wanted to enjoy our music and make it better." adds Kimberley.
"Whenever we get in the studio we never know which way we're going to go," says Cheryl. "But 'Out Of Control' still contains some of our crazy, quirky trademark songs. The difference is that now we're a bit older, so they have a more mature vibe about them" adds Sarah.
The band say that the older, wiser Girls Aloud has crept into the lyrics.
"There are a few more heartfelt love songs in there than usual," says Nadine.
First single 'The Promise' is another example of the band going to places they have never done before, a lush 60s-influenced orchestral ballad, it follows on from the acclaimed cover of Amy Winehouse's ‘Rehab’ the band performed on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge.
"I was really excited when I first heard the track because I love the rhythms and nuances of the 60s," says Nicola. "I'd been listening to the Solange album which was really 60s influenced, so I was really excited about the track and pleased it was the first single."
Sarah adds: "The song is about a woman telling a man that she doesn't want to be in a relationship with him, even though the man does."
"It's a subject we've never sung about before, so we're still pushing the boundaries," says Kimberley.
Pop legends Pet Shops Boys collaborated on the song 'The Loving Kind'. The song’s jaunty europop backing contrasts with the song’s lyrics, which seems like a kind of warning to a lover - "I'm not the loving kind" warn the girls.
"The Pet Shop Boys were in the studio doing some stuff for their album with Brian (Higgins) and they showed us the song and we loved it," explains Kimberley.
"It's got a similar feel to 'Call The Shots' but it has a different meaning lyrically," says Nicola.
"It's the story of a relationship with the girl basically saying 'I'm not going to fall for your every whim but I will try," adds Nadine.
The dreamy, almost musical-like 'Rolling Back The Rivers' is one of the Girls favourites. Coming across like the bastard child of the Lightning Seeds and ABBA, it still finds the time to name check The Strokes.
"It's kind of got a 60s vibe like 'The Promise' but in a completely different way," says Cheryl. "It's a really great song for a woman to sing because again the lyrics deal with something we haven't sung about before,"says Nadine.
Meanwhile 'Love Is Pain', takes a soon-to-be-classic keyboard line (think Yazoo's 'Don't Go') over mournful lyrics about infidelity.
"The lyrics are quite dark and mature, I think and the melody line is really special," says Cheryl.
But it wouldn't be a Girls Aloud album without a brace of good-time party tunes. 'Revolution In The Head' is a masterful exercise in genre hopping, mixing dancehall with flamenco, while 'We Wanna Party' is a rollicking tune for London's nihilistic scenesters. "We wanna party but we've got no soul" sing the girls, to a tribal chorus that recalls Beastie Boys’ 'Fight For Your Right (To Party').
"That song's a real anthem and the message is very Girls Aloud," says Kimberley.
'Miss You Bow Wow' takes its cue from Cyndi Lauper's kooky new wave style.
"I really love that song," says Kimberley "It has a really great energy to it." While 'Live In The Country' mixes trancey drum and bass with a lyric about moving out of the city.
"Miranda (Cooper) and Brian wrote that about Sarah moving to the country," says Nadine. "They are always taking things that are going on in our lives and using that in our lyrics."
'Out Of Control' is Girls Aloud’s best album yet- a little bit wiser, maybe, but still up for a real good time.
www.girlsaloud.co.uk
This biography was provided by the artist or their representative.
