Sugababes Album: “Catfights and Spotlights [Universal]”

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 - 1/10 terrible song, terrible single choice, they must have been high when they chose this as a single, shouldn't even be on the album, and the lyrics are horrible too.

2. You On A Good Day - 9/10, I hate 60's influenced songs, but this is a great song and the chorus really stands out.

3. No Can Do - 2/10, boring and blah song, bad 2nd single choice.

4. Hanging On A Star - 7/10, a mildly enetertaing up tempo track.

5. Side Chick - 10/10, ace song, sounds similar to Robyn's "Handle Me," probably because of the same songwriter on both songs.

6. Unbreakable Heart - 8/10, pretty great, but not amazing, but I like the production values on the song.

7. Sunday Rain - 8/10, good 50's inspired song with a cool chorus.

8. Every Heart Broken - 10/10, best song on the album, should have been the first single, it's that amazing. The lyrics are sly, the song is catchy as hell, and the production on it is beautiful.

9. Beware - 8/10, a different sounding song, but oddly unique and entertaining.

10. Nothing's As Good As You - 6/10, it's ok, but pretty forgetable.

11. Sound Of Goodbye - 7/10, better than the last track, but nothing breathtaking

12. Can We Call A Truce - 8/10, good song, not as great as some of the others on the album, but it's a pretty song and a smidge depressing.

Bonus Tracks:

13. About You Now (Acoustic Version) - 6/10, not as good as the original version.

14. She's Like A Star - 1/10, BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH