Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Such A 'WordShaker'

Oh, my Saturdays. The internal buildup and self-made hype I've created for The Saturdays sophomore disc, Wordshaker, was downright extraordinary, to the point that if I was even a little let down, I would be terribly depressed. Considering we have no Girls Aloud album to look forward to for quite some time, the Sugababes have all but disintegrated in my eyes, and my beloved Candy Coated Chaos have gone their separate ways, my Satz are all I have to look forward to in terms of girlicious electro-pop. And I'm here to tell you, in my humble opinion, Wordshaker doesn't disappoint.

While Chasing Lights had downright classic moments ("Up!", "If This Is Love", "Work", "Lies"), Wordshaker's track lineup is literally like the Yankees: it's a complete set of allstars.

So many blogger friends of mine, whose opinion I very much respect, have found this record someone lackluster, and my response to this is: give it time. Let it take you over. It may not be the instant gratification that was Chasing Lights, it's true, but overall, Wordshaker proves itself to be much more sonically cohesive. The more time I spend with it, the more I feel that this new, more mature version of the Satz is the direction they wanted to be at go -- away from their relation to Fascination Records/Girls Aloud and their color-coded outfits -- to be taken seriously as legitimate pop stars.

It's hard to review a record that you are so over-the-top in love with. The only track I'm having a bit of trouble fully embracing is "Here Standing", because if I wanted to hear "No Air", I'd play it myself. That note aside, the rest of the set is completely killer. So, in an attempt to save time, here's some superlatives:

Most Unexpected: The lyrical content for "Open Up" is downright comical (in a good way) and puts a fresh spin on the girl group cliche of kicking your man out for staying out too late.

Most Familiar: Does "Denial" sound very similar to "Lies" from Chasing Lights to anyone else or is it just me?

Most Repetative: "One Shot". Perhaps that's why it's so catchy? A sick part of me wants to see it be remixed together with electro swirliness with the Danity Kane track of the same name.

Most Relatable: "Lose Control." I don't really buy that any of the beautiful Satz were not "the hot girl"[s], "the not your type girl"[s]. But when I hear this song, I truly feel like my dream of being the sixth Saturday isn't so silly. In a nutshell: the lyrics represent yours truly. To a T.

Most Improved: Miss Mollie in "Deeper". Go on, girl. Rock your yellow outfit and sing.

Mel's Fave From Go: "Not Good Enough". It was on my list of the Best Songs of 2008 when it was leaked as b-side material from Chasing Lights last year. I realize this may make people feel like it's a "waste" or "filler" track, but if you think that, you have some re-organizing to do in your life. Either that, or just don't bring it up to me. You will lose that debate. Period.

Mel's Current Fave: "Wordshaker". I just can't get that effing chorus out of my head, no matter how hard I try, and when it's coupled with that gritty, fuzzy synth, I'm so far hooked, it's not even funny. I'm totally going to add 'wordshaker' to my regular vocabulary. I feel this is probably a better transition track from old era Satz to new era Satz than "Forever Is Over", but...maybe that's the reason they named the album that? Hmmm. I'm guessing that it will probably beat out the lovely first single (a track for which my love has already been documented), however, to be on my 'Best of 2009' list. Single, please?

While the entire disc is full of potential singles for different territories, my ultimate hopes for singles are: "Wordshaker", "Ego", "Lose Control" and "No One." ::crosses fingers:: I got my wish with Chasing Lights's "Work" (despite the fact that it totally didn't do for the girls what it should have chartwise). In fact, I personally feel "Wordshaker" would make an excellent transition track for the American markets. Who's with me?

5 comments:

J.Mensah said...

Nice write up Mel! =] I've been listening to the album for the last couple days and I really love it--probably more than Chasing Lights. Weirdly enough my favorite from the album is "Deeper" which others have unfairly noted as a filler. My iPod says I've listened to it 131 times since Monday. Pretty cool huh? lol

J.Mensah said...

Oh yah, definately good for American markets.

Myfizzypop said...

sigh. i'll give it a few spins when i'm on holiday next week. It can't be as lacklustre as the single and i'm already quite liking Ego.

Ken said...

I don't know why but I think I gave the album a fair amount of time for listening. So far, I've listened to the album like 4 times and I'm still not THAT convinced. I guess I was expecting more from the girls on this one. But I have to agree, the songs are quite decent. I suddenly miss GA.

BTW, awesome review. :)

John said...

I think you and I were two of the only ones that thought "Forever" was a powerhouse, so I trust you on this. Looking forward to hearing the full-length.

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