Sugababes Album: “Angels with Dirty Faces”

"Angels with Dirty Faces" is the Sugababes' second album and was released in 2002. Their first album, "One Touch", had been released two years previously - it featured some excellent songs and showed a great deal of promise. However, things didn't go entirely to plan - having bizarrely lost their record deal with London Records, they also lost a member wjen Siobhan Donaghy quit the band during a tour of the Far East. (Siobhan has since released a solo album called "Revolution In Me" - like "One Touch", on London. There are rumours of a second one on a different label).

The album opens with its lead single, "Freak Like Me" - featuring a sample of Gary Numan's "Are Friends Electric ?", the song gave the group its first UK number one. Not only is it just about the best song on the album, it's easily one of the best pop songs of recent years. "Shape" , one of the other singles, is also an outstanding song and would be the highlight of many other albums. It also is built around a sample - in this case, Sting's "Shape of my Heart". The moods of the two songs are very different however - "Shape" is a much gentler affair then "Freak Like Me". (This wouldn't be too much of a surprise to anyone who's old enough to remember the two songs that were sampled).

A couple of the album's tracks also turned up on some film soundtracks. "Round Round", which gave the girls their second UK chart topper, was included on the soundtrack to "The Guru". The album's title track, used on the soundtrack to the Powderpuff Girls movie, was released as a double-A side with "Stronger". For me, "Angels with Dirty Faces" was stronger than "Stronger". Its totally animated video was also much better, featuring Powderpuff Sugababes singing, dancing and generally saving the world.

Overall, the album's got a slight urban feel to it, rather than an out-and-out pop album. "Breathe Easy" is noticable because it's so different to the rest of the album - for many, it would've been the obvious ballad-type single. ("No Man No Cry", however, is not a reggae song). "Virgin Sexy" and "Supernatural" and two other very good tracks. Unusually, it would seem, for an all-girl singing trio each Sugababe can actually sing - it's not one lead singer and two backing singers. On each track, each member takes a stint on lead vocals. This is an excellent album and, if their subsequent singles are anything to go by, better than anything they've released since.

First of all, this is not a perfect album, but at least it is a good one!Sugababes are grow in up fast. The prove is that her 2 first singles , the smash dark hit «freak like me» & and the smash cool hit «round round» were 1# in England/UK. they are more than a girlband, they are a group with strong voices, and the new element Heidi was a excelent choice.

But the best songs in the album are Stronger an balad that can put you stronger, it may be your story - is the 3 rd single, it was 9# in the UK and have a lot of sucess by all Europe and the colaboration with Sting «Shape» the 4 single that have the suport of MTV, is real a good song.

Also «million miles... » are good as well «Blue» but the album have poor& bad moments. «Supernatural» is one of those. BAd lyric ,bad rythm.

In the global is a good album, and Stronger&Shape make the album look like perfect.is a shame that is only a ilusion but is not bad at all :P

The Sugababes are definitely the greatest girl group around at the moment, beating Atomic Kitten hands down. After their former band mate left the group in 2001, the future of the Sugababes looked bleak. But with the help of some top producers and a sample of Gary Numan's Are Friends Electric?, they stormed the charts in April 2002 with Freak Like Me. Their success continued with hits such as Round Round and Stronger, strong album sales of Angels With Dirty Faces and greater critical acclaim with their ability to appeal to all age groups with their unique blend of dance, pop, R'n'B, techno and much more. This second album from the Sugababes is much more accomplished than their debut One Touch, with more artistic influences and more depth in lyrical style.

Angels With Dirty Faces begins with Freak Like Me (10/10). Released in April 2002, this superb chart-topper was enough to make any haters turn into big fans. The bassline is very loud, deep and dirty and the vocals are on top form - especially those of Mutya. Blue (9/10) is a surprisingly good song, considering the first listen impression I got. The main focus of the song is the twisted and confused bassline, along with cluttered beats - the end result is rather effective and deserves praise. Round Round (10/10) is up next and was the second single to be taken from Angels With Dirty Faces, when it stormed the UK singles chart in August 2002 and earned the 'Babes their second UK No.1 single. From the first listen, I knew I absolutely loved this song. The chorus is superb and the lyrics of, "Round round baby, round round spinning out on me," are incredibly infectious. Things get serious next with Stronger (10/10). Released in November 2002 as a Double A-Side with Angels With Dirty Faces, Stronger only peaked at No.8 - which I was rather surprised by, considering the song really is brilliant. The song is about a girl finding herself and believing in herself and taking no bull from anyone - the video best supports this theory, in which Mutya leaves her boyfriend's car in the middle of the road and Heidi leaves a strip-club halfway through dancing after realising it's not what she wants to do. Supernatural (10/10) is just such an amazing song. The bassline is very "stoppy-starty" which can be kind of off-putting at first, but becomes excellent and incredibly funky once the songs' chorus kicks in. Overall, a great song with some cool lyrics - definite single. Angels With Dirty Faces (8/10) is up next and is basically an average song. Don't get me wrong, I like the song but it's just not as strong as say Round Round or Stronger. I like the Powerpuff Girls style video though. Virgin Sexy (10/10) is another superb song in which the girls modernise certain features. For example, they sing, "Coz I'm virgin, virgin sexy/If you want me, just text me," which most teenage girls can relate to and is very successful in doing this.

Shape (9/10) is a really nice mid-tempo song that I've heard will be the next single. While this song is very good, I hope it isn't released as a single because it's a bit too depressing! Just Don't Need This (10/10) is a wicked song with the style of Stronger, but a bit more up-tempo. The song is about a girl who's taking control of her life and telling people how it is. "Look across the room/I see some guy steaming over me/He's smirking sleazy/Probably older than daddy," sings Mutya. These lyrics hint at people not taking her seriously, but she's going to show them she's capable of taking care of herself. The chorus is cool and the bassline is funky, too. No Man No Cry (10/10) is one of the stronger songs on the album. It starts off rather poor, but gets better over time which can only be a good thing. Switch (10/10) is such an amazing song! The bassline and the way the vocals are arranged makes for one hell of a brilliant and outrageously infectious song. This is definitely - along with Supernatural - my favourite unreleased song from the album. In the chorus the 'Babes sing, "Switch, if you don't deliver/You just ditch/Grab another lover/Scratch your itch/From dusk 'til dawn/Until that new guy has you yawning." OK, these lyrics might sound so corny, but they're so effective and very girl-powery! More Than A Million Miles (9/10) is a great mid-tempo R'n'B song with some cool beats and great lyrics. The song is about how a girl is with a guy and their relationship should be working, but he's too pre-occupied with other things. The song also sees the 'Babes swearing. It's only the "BS" phrase, but I'd never expected them to do it! Breathe Easy (Acoustic Jam) (7/10) and Round Round (Alternative Mix) (10/10) are tracks 13 and 14 respectively. The former is probably the worst song on the album - I really don't like it! The latter, however, is a superb remix of Round Round. The instrumental at the beginning of the song is extended and the vocals of the Sugababes have more of an echo to them.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

I think the Sugababes are like an updated version of All Saints, but much cooler and more chilled. If you like music by All Saints, or just plain cool pop by brilliant acts such as Liberty X, Daniel Bedingfield or Girls Aloud you will love Angels With Dirty Faces. The album has been a big hit here in the UK and the Sugababes are blowing up all over Europe and the Far East. By this time next year, they will be huge and I highly recommend that you buy Angels With Dirty Faces now!

I purchased this from the comments given and I was surprised to say the least. I found only two cuts on the cd that are really good. Round Round & Shape. The rest is just filler.I found that their sound is just like too many other group's with great harmonies. Might I recommend All Saints "studio one" or Saturday's "headlines". Truly disapointing !

after siobhan donaghy recently left the group, heidi range joins the Sugababes. their new album Angels With Dirty Faces is an amazing CD of the trio. the song "freak like me" really rocks!! "round round" is one of the best singles so far. There are also better tracks like "supernatural" and "shape". The babes have a more matured voice and their music is soooo different....not sweet but wild melodies.