Sugababes Album: “Catfights and Spotlights”

So the latest Sugababes album is here. It's becoming a regular occurance, that at the end of every year the trio release a new album.

Their previous album, Change, was rather a disappointment. At the time (check back through my reviews for my take on it), I loved it, but over time the album has become boring. Thankfully, Catfights & Spotlights is a lot better. Yes, this might not be a popular opinion but I genuinelly like this album. The standout tracks make the whole CD for me.

So what are these tracks?

Well, my favourite song on the album is the ballad "Sunday Rain." This song is just gorgeous. The Babes do a cracker ballad, every album they've released has had a couple of good ballads and this is no exception. "Sunday Rain" has a retro feel to it, which makes you feel like you're in the 50's or 60's. It has creative lyrics ("standing on the platform, waiting for the train, watching the weather change") and a really catchy chorus for a ballad. The highlight of the CD and my favourite track for sure.

Another standout is the fan's favourite track, "Every Heart Broken." I have to admit, this track took awhile to grow on me, but now I adore it, it's one of my favourites. The lyrics are incredibly cool ("when he said cut, I took it literally") and quite dark, considering the track used to be called "Murder One." It's also really catchy and the girls sound awesome. I hope this is a single.

The album's official closing track, "Can We Call A Truce" is another highlight. It's another Babes ballad and it was actually my favourite on the first listen of the album. The girls talk more then sing in this track and yet again, the lyrics are top notch. I absolutely love this song, it's another favourite.

Another track that seems to have favour with the fans is "Side Chick." I find this track rather interesting. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. It's really catchy and Keisha sounds great on it.

I know it's not an official track, but I adore "She's Like A Star" with Taio Cruz. It's just such a cute track. Taio sounds great and the Babes complement him nicely. It's a short little track, but it works.

"Beware" is another cool track, lead by Amelle. It's another shorter track but packs a powerful punch, it's really catchy.

I must make a mention of the album's lead single, "Girls." What in the world were the girls thinking when they released this? It's their worst single yet. It's so boring! If the album failed, it was because of this song.

This album isn't nearly as strong as the new Girls Aloud album, Out Of Control, but it's still a fine offering from the Babes. I would have given it 4 stars, but I adore "Sunday Rain," "Every Heart Broken," "Can We Call A Truce" and "She's Like A Star" too much to do that.

Despite just being released at the end of 2008, Catfights and Spotlights - the Sugababes' 6th studio album - has already been scrapped for additional promotion via tours / singles, etc...which says something about the quality of this disc. After reading some slightly more negative reviews, I decided to give the disc a spin anyway and honestly enjoyed what I was listening to - perhaps because I'm a long-time fan of the girls. On the flip side though, it does make sense as to why the album will receive no further promotion - it's very generic sounding, yet the tunes that actually do stand out are almost a bit too far from typical Sugababes songs to really bother investing record label dollars into. Additionally don't be fooled by the title - much like Britney Spears' new release 'Circus', the title perhaps refers more to the 'babes media perceptions rather than the content on the album.

To recap the album - it kicks off with 'The Girls', the first (poorly performing) single, a 70s-influenced number which is very catchy in terms of the actual instruments, but kind of lacking in clever / interesting lyrics and arrangement. 'You On A Good Day' continues on the retro-flavoured vibe with a 60s girl group type tune, one of the best on the album. 'No Can Do', the second single off the album, goes back to the 70s in a Jackson 5-esque soul number.

'Hanging On A Star' is oddly reminiscent of early 2K group S Club 7 in terms of being a generic Brit pop tune. In contrast, 'Side Chick' sounds more like classic Sugababes with a bit of an urban, if not more generic flare this time around. 'Unbreakable Heart' is one of the better mid-tempo / ballad type songs that echoes the title track of the girls' last album 'Change' although the chorus kind of tempers the more interesting verse arrangements.

'Sunday Rain' channels a bit of the 1920s-style jazzy soul singer as well as some of the better Sugababes ballads of past ('Honestly', 'Too Lost In You') but feels overproduced / synthetic on this collection. 'Every Heart Broken' is a bit of a departure from regular Sugababes fare, with tons of strings and piano rather than electro-sounds, but again, still manages to come off as a bit bland here. 'Beware' legitimately has a creepy music bed to it that is completely distracting from actually being able to consider this a good song.

'Nothin's As Good As You' is one of my better-liked songs on the album, sort of like a stripped down version of a lot of the girls' singles ('About You Now' etc.) It's nothing particularly mind-blowing, but it's definitely one of the catchier, more pleasant-sounding songs on the album. 'Sound of Goodbye' is probably my favourite ballad on the album although it's not as good as some of my fave past ballads ('Undignified', 'Two Hearts') on the last few albums the girls have released. It does have some more interesting vocals that don't feel quite so processed though. 'Can We Call A Truce' is very American hip hop sounding - I agree with comments that it echoes Timbaland-styled tunes. It's not super, but it's relatively catchy with interesting strings.

Finally the two bonus tracks are a live/acoustic version of the girls' last mega-hit 'About You Now' and another song where they basically just have some guest vocals on another artists' track. Translation = forgettable.

My general bottom line would be if you're a consistent fan of the girls as I am, this album won't disappoint too much - but if you're someone that only picks up their albums for their singles, this is probably skippable until their 7th album comes out in 09. Still catchy, but not as interesting as usual unfortunately.

1. Girls- the first single is cool, but a needed to listen to it a couple of times to start to like it.7/10

2. You on a Good Day- Another cool song, but compared to sugababes' previous stuff it is only generic, but is best than "Hanging on a Star".6/10

3. No Can Do- Boring song, it never could be the 2nd single, after the almost failure of "girls" that reached only at #8, they could choose better.3/10

4. Hanging on a Star- Pure generic song, skip it,the worst song on the album.0/10

5. Side Chick- The best song on the entire album. It remembers me of Open the Door" from their previous album "Change". It turns out of the "old" feeling of the album, but if it wasn't there this album would't be complete.10/10

6. Unbreakable Heart- My 3rd favourite. The beginning is strange, but the chorus is amazing.10/10

7. Sunday Rain- It's just OK, it's not a great song, but it's better than others.7/10

8. Every Heart Broken- The beginning of this song is amazing,the lyrics are beautiful and depressive, but when the chorus starts... I really expected more from this song, because it was the most commented, everybody was saying that this is the best Sugababes song and the lyrics were so fantastic... but the change of key in the chorus is a total mistake and the song lost all of it's beauty.5/10

9. Beware- Anoter OK song. the chorus have a strange rythmyn that doesn't seem to fit in the song. 6/10

10. Nothing's as Good as You- It's better than the other, but it isn't their style. 7/10

11. Sound Of Goodbye- This song is good, the lyrics are cool, but the chorus could be better. 8/10

12. Can We Call a Truce- The 2nd best song of the album, it gets out of the "old" vibe too, it sound too americanized to me, this song could do some success in the U.S. 10/10

13. About You Now (Acoustic)- Not as good as the original.3/10

14. She's Like a Star (feat Taio Cruz)- This is really Taio Cruz feat. Sugababes, and they just sing a small part (taking in consideration this song is just 2:46 long). It could be bigger, and the Sugababes could sing more on it. 5/10

Overall- 6/10. This is not they at their best, but after the great success they had with at least their 3 previous albums (Three, Taller in More Ways and Change) I would expect a lot more from this, it just worth the way because of "Side Chick" and "Can We Call a Truce".

Unlike some other reviewers, I found the previous 'Babes album, "Change," a lot of fun. With "Catfights" the girls have return to suck on the teat of generic, uninspired, American-sounding urban rot. Lots of mid-tempo numbers, the occasional burst of energy, and then back to soulless ballads and bass-heavy pseudo grooves. I hope some good remixes are on the way.