Let’s face it: we’re living in the time of the teen. Youth was best celebrated by the baby-boom generation; our pop culture, meanwhile, is at the mercy of the kids. It’s dominated by overachieving adolescents or commercially clever over-20s. Whether it’s the sod-it-all, just-hate-everything attitude of Limp Bizkit or the over-analytical but compelling angst of Dawson’s Creek, being a kid is cool. And being an American kid is even cooler.
Following the 30 seconds during which being British was acceptable, the natural order of things has returned and we’re all in awe of the United States. The Spice Girls wanna be Destiny’s Child. Budweiser campaigns find their way on to United Kingdom dance tracks. Madonna’s London show is the biggest event of the year. And now Sugababes are here to live the American dream.
And rightly so. Wouldn’t you rather be Dawson’s Creek‘s perky Katie Holmes than miserable Sonia from EastEnders? Sioban Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan certainly would. Sugababes are a trio of London teens who fell for the US girl sound and set about recreating it. They’ve chosen their moment and captured the spirit perfectly.
One Touch is all about experiencing the pain of growing up while retaining that invincible teenage glow. It’s a time best summed up by Overload, Sugababes’ first single. To a backing of basic beats and subtle scratches, Overload is a glimpse into the chaotic mind of a teenage girl obsessing over a boy, its lyrics full of false confidence and exposed innocence.
One Touch is full of such hormonally driven tunes. Same Old Story uses a formula patented by the likes of the Crystals and the Ronettes back in the 1960s, an easy blend of smooth soul voices and straight-from-the-heart sentiments. The brilliant Just Let Go takes this style even further as two of the Babes warn their friend to walk away from a bad boy. But Sugababes know that going over the top is, like, sooo embarrassing, so they let a simple acoustic guitar and gentle beats convey their confusion.
It proves that if you’re going to appeal to the kids, it helps if you’re a kid yourself. Sugababes sing about themselves, for themselves, and that’s what makes this debut so delectable. Look at Me has them explaining to their parents that though they are young, they can look after themselves. It’s a perennial debate given a sultry R&B treatment.
Lyrically, much of the album deals with screwing up and moving on — it’s usually the nasty schoolboys in the Sugababes’ lives causing all the problems — but musically the girls are astute, keeping their cool and keeping it simple. And while Soul Sound concentrates too hard on the pretty harmonies actually to say much, and Run for Cover is spoilt by a fussy arrangement, One Touch is a debut that exudes more confidence than a teen in Jimmy Choo slingbacks.
One Touch is a fantastic album that encapsulates the sound of young America with enough style, attitude and originality to mesmerise us all. The kids are all right.
Air: 10 000Hz Legend (Virgin)
Having pleasantly stirred the world with their innovative, two-million-selling Moon Safari debut, Parisian duo Air have rung the changes to keep things fresh. However, as for many before them, a search for adventure (and guitars) has led to an old alley signposted “prog rock”. Much of 10 000Hz Legend could be offcuts from the sessions that spawned Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Single Radio #1 typifies the album’s malaise, with an initially promising Floydesque chorus that reveals less with each listen, and a recorded “DJ” humming along, which soon becomes unlistenable.
The album is peppered with such in-jokes — lyrics about “melancholy snipers”, tracheotomy-box “vocals” and the rest — but while their effervescent debut sounded full of naive discovery, this sounds knowing and laboured. The lovely, funkier People in the City demonstrates that the humanoids who made Sexy Boy haven’t been abducted, but too much here whiffs of fame-fuelled indulgence and Rick Wakeman. — Dave Simpson
Muse: Showbiz (David Gresham)
This album was released a while ago but is worth mentioning. British trio Muse, winners of the NME best new artist award, give us 12 anthems of despair, melancholia expressed beautifully à la Radiohead or The Verve and laid over guitar licks — lead singer Matthew Bellamy even sounds like Thom Yorke on some tracks. There are complex dramatic shifts from a soulful ballad style to raging choruses, alternating between romantic and dark moods. Even though Muse should work on creating a more individual sound, it’s a fine debut. — Riaan Wolmarans
Various: Dance Adrenalin 12 (Gallo)
Just another hits-of-the-moment double compilation. The first CD, Pop, has 21 very commercial tracks by the likes of Ultra Naté and Sister 2 Sister (including a really terrible version of Eminem’s The Real Slim Shady by MC Trip). The second, Club, is for the dance-floor fanatics (CRW, Mauro Picotto, Sebastian) and is mostly listenable. But you’d be better off buying a proper dance album than being stuck with the dud that is the Pop CD. — Riaan Wolmarans
Various: Hard NRG: The Album (Ministry of Sound)
Mixed by James Lawson, this is an all-out dance-floor assault, all fast, raging and furious beats. It takes hard house and gives it a playful nu-nrg edge. Represented labels include Nukleuz and Tripoli Trax; sweat to tracks by Tall Paul, Fergie, Mario Piu and other masters. Even tracks like Storm’s Time to Burn are dressed in a lively jacket. Definitely one of the Ministry’s most worthy releases. — — Riaan Wolmarans