Island
Pop, 2003
It’s quite amazing that the Sugababes haven’t self-combusted by now, what with members Heidi Range, Keisha Buchanan, and Mutya Buena rumored to be pulling diva acts on each other. I’d expect that after driving away one previous member, they will at least try to treat one another better (especially seeing how the All Saints arrogantly split only to see their solo careers going nowhere), but there you go. Nothing like big egos in dainty heads to make the music business as interesting as always.
Three, their aptly-titled third CD, is the Sugababes’s strongest CD to date. There are still too many filler tracks in this CD, but the standout tracks are really good. The first single Hole in My Head has a very catchy chorus that won’t leave my head and the ladies perform the song with an attitude that Avril Lavigne can only dream of having. While ballads like Caught in A Moment and Too Lost in You seem more appropriate in a sappy Mandy Moore or Jessica Simpson CD, tracks like We Could Have it All, In the Middle, and Conversation’s Over are subtle but infectious hooks performed in polished and classy vocals over well-produced backing tracks. The Sugababes sound right at home in a dance club as much as in a lounge where cool people chat up each other and exchange happy pills under the table. The Linda Perry-produced Nasty Ghetto is the best track on this CD: it’s slick, it’s sexy, and it sticks to the mind and forces the listener to get up and dance along. Recalling the best of a Neneh Cherry revival amalgamated with naughty Tom Jones-ish styling, this track is what happens when cool chicks tackle faux-rock and make it fashionable all over again.
Three is a great CD to play at full volume while driving down the road or at a background noise level while sipping martini in an acid lounge bar and trying desperately to be hip and cool yuppies. In short, it’s a perfect CD for all occasions of pretentiousness or for pure old-fashioned fun. Get this CD while the Sugababes are still hot – or still together, whichever comes first.
