GenQ - For the not so straight individual

"Change" is the 5th studio album from UK pop favourites Sugababes. Although over the years the line-up has changed, with previous members leaving the group for personal reasons, for the last year and a half, the group has remained the same. Having joined just after “Taller in more Ways� was recorded, the album was later re-recorded to include the new trio, with new member Amelle Berrabah.

To date the band have sold over 2 million singles, hitting Number One five times. They’ve sold more than five million albums (including three triple-platinum discs in the UK) and have amassed more Top 10 singles than the Spice Girls, All Saints, Destiny’s Child or Bananarama, and more Top 10 hits with original songs than any girl group since The Supremes. They’re also the first girl group since the 1980s to release more than three hit albums – trouncing Destiny’s Child, The Three Degrees, the Spice Girls and The Bangles.

Perhaps their greatest rivalry to date has been themselves. Following a greatest hits (“Overloaded: The Singles Collection, 2006) is never easy, not to mention topping an album of 14 hit singles, including four Number Ones. However after hearing their new album, “Change� I believe the girls are more than up for the challenge. It’s been a long road for the group who formed almost a decade ago in1998. Having been a fan of the Sugababes since their very first album in 2000, “One Touch�, I can say with enthusiasm that they never disappointed, always bringing a slightly different sound, with the same elements fans always loved. This was achieved by teaming up with new producers and co-writers, as well as familiar faces including Dallas Austin (‘push the button’).

“To keep the band fresh, and to have a reason to make this album we needed to ask ourselves, ‘what haven’t we done before? What can we improve on?� Keisha says. “Heidi and I weren’t interested in covering old ground, and it’s also important that we reflected the fact that, with Amelle now in the band, the Sugababes weren’t just sticking to a formula.�

“Change� has come at a time where the girls are maturing and experiencing different emotions and life events, hence delivering more sexier, mature sounds and lyrics. The first single from the album, “About You Now� was recorded with Dr Luke (Kelis, Pink, Missy Elliot) and is ripe with synths, guitars and perky beats. But further to that bouncy beats, ‘About You Now’ is melodically captivating with a catchy chorus [“Can we bring yesterday back around, ‘cos I know how I feel about you now�]. An anthem for anyone who’s ever given something up only to regret it in the same breathe. Its eating humble pie in a nightclub and the spotlight is on you. Again relating to the added maturity, these lyrics are experiences we all grow up to face in a way, with a side of schoolgirl innocence, in the hopes that everything can be changed back to the way things were.

I have found this entire album an absolute pleasure to listen to from start to finish, and listen to it I have (lots!). It is a true pop hit, combining more familiar pop/dance tracks with slower ballad pop. Being a dance fan myself (although I was absolutely enamoured with ‘Run For Cover’ from “One Touch�) my favourites include ‘Never Gonna Dance Again’, another anthem for a relationship breakdown played out on a dance floor, which begins with a beautifully serenaded beginning by Keisha. Sure to be a queer culture favourite (particularly with the bois), “My Love is Pink� has attitude that might be found in a change room full of Drag Queens, with the sexiness of a young vixen on the prowl. “Thinking about the way that I can say, Maybe there’s more to me than you see baby, Seventy different ways to misbehave, Betting that by tonight we’ll make it eighty�. Lastly, “3 Spoons of Suga� is a fun loving, sexy and teasing with a great beat and guitar riff. The catchy chorus and lyrical break later in the song make this one an attention grabber and a song you will dance and sing to over and over again.

Of the moving pop ballads on the album, the standout for me is “Mended by You�. The harmony in their voices and the melody of keys, drums and guitar give life to the lyrics, which portray the light you can bring to somebody’s life, after they have been through hard times. The second single from the album, to be released in December, ‘Change’, is a trademark Sugababes ballad about the change forced upon you when someone leaves and the challenged life throws to you. While ‘Denial’ revels in the Sugababes’ rarer raw, rockier edge.

The Sugababes have come a long way since founding members Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena met at a party when they were both 13, but while they look slightly different these days they remain a group that will continue to bring the goods.