by John LucasThe first post-greatest hits record is a tricky proposition for any act, but particularly so for a manufactured pop group, whose shelf life seldom exceeds a few albums. Girls Aloud are no exception; indeed, they have more to live up to than most. 2006's hits package The Sound of Girls Aloud was a surprise Christmas bestseller, their first number one album in the U.K., and it included the infectious "Something Kinda Ooh!" It gave them one of the defining hits of their career. However, their last studio album, Chemistry, stalled in the charts, and now Tangled Up is the group's first to contain no well-known cover versions, the chart fortunes of their previous records having being reversed to varying degrees of success by the release of timely renditions of the Pointer Sisters' "Jump," the Pretenders' "I'll Stand by You," and Dee C. Lee's "See the Day." Taster single "Sexy! No No No..." is one of the most daring songs they've yet released. A pounding electro-punk number with an extended, vocodered intro and a chorus which, while catchy, could hardly be described as danceable, it eased into the U.K. Top Five, but had a relatively short stay on the charts and didn't seem to bode well. However, as seems to be something of a pattern with Girls Aloud albums, second single and album opener "Call the Shots" is the real revelation. By far the most subtle single of the girls' careers, it's an elegant electro-pop ballad delivered with a restraint and maturity to rival groups of twice their age. Writing team Xenomania may have been working behind the pop scenes since long before Girls Aloud were formed, but they remain adept at crafting lyrics to suit the group, all of whom are still just in their early twenties. The line "I won't cry because I've stumbled through this far" says more about the confusion, naiveté and bruised wisdom of youth at the precipice of maturity than a thousand Britney Spears ballads. ... Read More...