Sound Of The Underground [Enhanced] [Extra tracks]

I'm one of those people who loves to moan about how pop is bringing down the value of good music made by 'real' musicians. So by every right, this group should be at fulcrum of my complaints - they have a completely pop image and were put together on a TV show for god's sake!

This said, of the tracks I have listened to, I incredulously have to admit that some are actually very good. The tracks are generally well produced and, incredibly, these girls can actually sing! (To a respectable extent). I am especially pleased to hear a pop group having the courage to put out some tracks with a breakbeat/D&B vibe to them. A lot of D&B purists will be annoyed, but lets face it, the genre needs as much help as it can to get back on its feet.

I will gladly admit as a young single male that only reason the group first caught my attention was the obvious good looks of it members. I have subsequently been very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the tracks. It's a damn shame that the group won't be able to shake off the pop image for a long time, if ever though, because I think they could be worthy of a lot more respect than they get.
I won't quite be buying this for my personal use yet, but perhaps as a gift to a female friend who might just lend it to me for a few hours worth of satifaction...

PS. Cheryl's my favourite ;-)

Girls Aloud are re-releasing their #2 album "Sound Of The Underground" with three new songs, the new single from the Love Actually soundtrack "Jump", former B-side and Duran Duran cover "Girls On Film" and the all new track "You Freak Me Out" from the Freaky Friday remake. Plus there's the videos for all four singles ("Sound Of The Underground", "No Good Advice", "Life Got Cold" and "Jump") and new versions of two album tracks, "Some Kind Of Miracle" and "Forever And A Night".

All this should be more than enough for owners of the original version to buy this reissue, and there's all the hits to entice new buyers. It's one of the best albums of the year, and now it's even better!

1. Sound Of The Underground - Obviously the lead off single and very very good! 10/10
2. No Good Advice - The second single to be released and very good. Written with Lene from the group Aqua. 9/10
3. Life Got Cold (Radio Version) - The 3rd single that was released and pretty good. It does sound too much like Oasis and is quite drab and lifeless. 7.5/10
4. Jump - A cover of the 80's song for the "Love Actually" movie. Very good song. 9/10
5. Some Kind Of Miracle (Single Version) Was a fairly boring and lifeless song to begin with and still is. 5/10
6. All I Need (All I Don't) - Very dancy and funky track. I love this song! 9/10
7. Mars Attack - A much different track but very good to listen to. 8/10
8. You Freak Me Out - A little bit immature and kiddish, but then again it was for a Disney movie. 8/10
9. Stop - This is my favourite track on the album! It has great vocals and beats to it. A definate track to dance to! 10/10
10. Girls Allowed - Catchy and fun. 9/10
11. Forever and A Night - A good ballad that could have used a little more power and a bit different vocalization. 8/10
12. Love/ Hate - Sounds like a reject track. Not too pleased with it at all. 5/10
13. Boogie Down Love - Very catchy dance track filled with funky beats and sultry vocals. 9/10
14. White Lies - A very nice mid-tempo ballad. Very enjoyable. 8/10
15. Girls On Film (Non album track) - A great cover of the Duran Duran version. Good vocals and quite catchy. 9/10

Overall i thought this was a great album with the exception of a few tracks! I suggest this to anyone!