Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 03/25/2008
Sugababes straightforwardly titled third release may have lacked a single quite as striking as
"Freak Like Me," the tremendous
electro-clash/mash-up cash-in smash from their breakthrough sophomore set,
Angels with Dirty Faces, but otherwise it improves on that album in many respects. Following the same essential template -- tuneful,
R&B-inflected
dance-pop with fresh-sounding but accessible productions, along with a healthy smattering of big droopy
ballads -- with an expanded stylistic range,
Three boasts a sonic approach both lusher and more intricately detailed, and, most significantly, stronger songwriting almost across the board, much of it contributed at least in part by the
Babes themselves. And if it was less revelatory than
"Freak," this album's chart-topping lead single/opener
"Hole in the Head" was no less enjoyable -- a slice of bouncy, slightly off-kilter up-tempo
pop reminiscent of
Angels' second number one single,
"Round Round." Both were produced and co-written by
Xenomania, fresh from their career-making work on
Girls Aloud's debut album -- and so were several of
Three's other highlights, including the playfully funky
"Twisted," and the ruminative, woozily floaty
"Situation's Heavy." Elsewhere,
Pete Craigie and
Guy Sigsworth conjure up blankets of
electronic gloss to swathe the barnstorming robo-
pop of
"Whatever Makes You Happy," the Eastern-tinged quasi-Diwali of
"Million Different Ways," and the beautiful, throbbing slow-burner
"Maya," a metaphysical missive to a lost friend that reflects: "If this universe is really shrinking/we'll be together in time." Then there are the
ballads, arguably
Sugababes' strongest suit:
Three has no less than four of them (five if you include the less formally classicist
"Maya") evenly spaced throughout the album, of which the obvious standout is the pitch-perfect
"Caught in a Moment," a stirring, string-laden monolith of melody. It may seem incongruous for such unabashed sentimentality and frankly conventional arrangements to coexist with
electronic dance-pop so thoroughly modern in sound and sensibility -- and indeed it's easy to imagine listeners attracted by one aspect of
Sugababes' pop-craft being turned off by the other. But ultimately they are two sides of a coin -- timeless if sudsy
ballads and flashy novelty dance tunes -- both very much in keeping with the great interpretive
pop tradition, of which
Sugababes are among our most consummate and sophisticated modern exponents.
~K. Ross Hoffman, All Music Guide
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