Search - Sugababes :: Catfights and Spotlights

Phew!!!

Nse Ette | Lagos, Nigeria | 10/21/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tracklist for this CD is as follows:



1. "Girls"

2. "You on a Good Day"

3. "No Can Do"

4. "Hanging on a Star"

5. "Side Chick"

6. "Unbreakable Heart"

7. "Sunday Rain"

8. "Every Heart Broken

9. "Beware"

10. "Nothing's as Good as You"

11. "Sound Of Goodbye"

12. Can We Call A Truce"

13. "About You Now (Acoustic)"

14. "She's Like A Star" (feat Taio Cruz)



I've been a fan of UK trio Sugababes through their numerous personnel changes, but I have to admit I wasn't too enamoured with their last album "Changes". It seemed their muse had left with newly departed member Mutya whose debut "Real girl" I preferred to their CD.



Thankfully, "Catfights and spotlights" (there must be some meaning in that title) sees a return to form for the babes, with a heavy R&B influence. Lead-off single "Girls" is a horn-peppered retro soul affair and features a sample of "Here come the girls" by Ernie K-Doe's. It's already made the UK top 10. Continuing along those lines are "You on a good day" and the Jackson 5-channelling "No can do".



The sunny "Hanging on a star" has a retro girl group sound, while the funky piano tinkling "Side chick" takes the tempo down. "Beware" has a dark creepy vibe. Nice!



"She's like a star" is a reworking of a song that originally appeared on fellow Brit Taio Cruz's CD "Departure", while a lovely acoustic version of "About you now", one of the standouts from their "Change" album is also included.



"Nothing's as good as you" is a lovely guitar driven ballad, while "Can we call a truce" sounds like something out of Timbaland's songbook. The girls apparently wanted to work with the maestro but there wasn't enough time. My favourite song however is the beautiful ballad "Sunday rain" (awesome harmonies and sweeping strings).



Good to see the babes back."

The standout tracks keep it at 5 stars

Weather Warden | Auckland, NZ | 01/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Love the Sugababes

D. Cooper | Hartford, CT United States | 05/12/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm assuming this was to be very tongue and cheek, however it never did catch on with the buying public, I after hearing it liked it but never bothered buying. Until I found myself thinking about some of the songs and wanting to listen to the album, this is a great album, very pop(py), I love it and think it's just as good as any other Suga' album it aint no 3, but that's quite a hard album to follow-up. This in my opinion is loads better than Change"