Tangled Up is the fourth studio album by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud. It was released through Fascination Records and Polydor Records on 16 November 2007, and was distributed in two physical formats and made available for digital consumption. The album is a pop record that incorporates elements of dance-pop, synth-pop, and various EDM sub-genres produced by long time-collaborators Brian Higgins and production team Xenomania. Marking a more mature approach according to group member Cheryl, the album lyrically delves into themes of love, relationships and femininity, and it was the group's first experimentation with tools such as autotune and vocoder. Production and development began with each member meeting with Higgins to discuss their personal and professional experiences since the release of their third album Chemistry (2005). It was recorded separately from April to October 2007, with the band members earning songwriting credits for two tracks off the album.
Upon its release, Tangled Up was met with widespread acclaim from music critics, who commended the dance-oriented sound, songwriting and fun production; it has been identified by numerous commentators as Girls Aloud and Xenomania's best work. Commercially, it experienced success in the United Kingdom, peaking at number four, and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 300,000 units. It performed moderately in Ireland, reaching number 25, and was certified gold by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) for 7,500 claimed sales.
In order to promote Tangled Up, Girls Aloud conducted a series of promotional activities such as television, commercial and magazine appearances. Three singles were released from the album: "Sexy! No No No...", "Call the Shots" and "Can't Speak French", all achieving critical and commercial success in Europe. Furthermore, the girl group embarked on their Tangled Up Tour, which saw them tour in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Like the album, it achieved critical and commercial acclaim, and a live DVD was distributed on 27 October 2008.
Background and development
In April 2007, the group announced that they would release a new studio album in November of that year. Initial ideas started in March of that year where each member met with British producer Brian Higgins, who had worked with them together on their previously released albums. Each singer visited Higgins at his home in England and discussed their experiences and life endeavours after the release of Girls Aloud's third studio album Chemistry (2005). To his advantage, he decided to take inspiration from those discussions and work further on the new record, along with his production team Xenomania. Group member Nicola Roberts reaffirmed that it was important for Higgins to be "up to date with where [Girls Aloud are] at," and further commented, "Our songs have to reflect us so that's why we do it." Moreover, when asked in an interview with Fascination Records about what fans and critics could expect from the album, group member Cheryl Cole said they were heading for a "more mature direction." She also believed that the ideal focus for the record was not to sing "about things that we would have when we were 16. Now we're singing about things that you talk about in your early 20s."
In late March 2007, Higgins and Xenomania started crafting demo songs for the girl group to record, which commenced the following month. However, Higgins only provided the demo to member Nadine Coyle to sing to choose which sections of the song will work. Subsequently, she recorded the tracks in Los Angeles once Higgins mastered the final versions. According to member Kimberley Walsh, it took Girls Aloud six months to finish recording the album, which she found "unusual" for the group. Furthermore, she noted that sessions for their previous albums would take a "matter of weeks", but took longer because the members wanted to experiment more with the production. Moreover, recording had to be halted due to the group embarking on The Greatest Hits Tour and promotion of Tangled Up's lead single "Sexy! No No No...". The album was finished in October 2007 and was mastered by Higgins himself, with the help of Dick Beetham of 360 Masterings.
Composition and themes Unlike the group's previous records, Tangled Up is a pop album that consistently incorporates elements of electropop, dance music, Europop and various EDM sub-genres. Regarding the sound and production, Alexis Petridis of the Guardian found the material to be "witty, diverse and experimental", whilst Digital Spy contributor Nick Levine believed it to be "their most danceable album to date". Tangled Up was the group's first album to not include cover songs or traditional ballads. Group member Nadine Coyle said that the tracks from Tangled Up were "all in the same vein," contrary to their previous releases, of which she described the song selection as "quite random". There are several themes discussed throughout the record, including melancholy, love, relationships, sex and femeninity. Girls Aloud co-wrote two of the twelve tracks on the album: "Sexy! No No No..." and "Crocodile Tears". A leftover track titled "Dog Without A Bone", was originally written in 2006 in an attempt to come up with a lead single for the group's first compilation album, The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits, however, "Something Kinda Ooooh" was released instead. The group also co-wrote and recorded a song titled "Hoxton Heroes", which pokes fun at indie bands. The song was deemed too controversial for Tangled Up and therefore omitted from the album; however, the song was released as a B-side to the third single off the album "Can't Speak French". Cheryl Cole stated that whilst they never intended to enter the industry as "brilliant lyricists", they felt "comfortable with writing bits and pieces".
Songs
The album opens with "Call the Shots", an "elegant" electropop ballad that incorporates elements of 1980s pop and 1990s house, and minor Europop sounds. Additionally, it was described as one of their softer–sounding singles in their career and features a solo bridge section by member Nicola Roberts. Furthermore, Cheryl highlighted it as her favourite track from the album and said it gave her goosebumps. The second track, "Close to Love", was noted by commentators as the "kick-starter" to the album, singling out its "energetic" nature and dance–house music as a factor. During the verses, it features a "part rap, part singing" delivery by member Nadine Coyle. The third track of the album, "Sexy! No No No..."—which was released as the record's lead single—was described as one of their most "daring" single releases. Incorporating instrumentation such as synthesizers, keyboards and vocoder pro-tools for Cheryl's vocals at the first part of the recording, it is an experimental power pop anthem that emphasizes a rock-like sound over-top accompanying electronic music. "Girl Overboard" was singled out as one of the better cuts from the album, with many critics praising its "clubby vibe" and 80s-inspired house and Eurodance music. Moreover, a Matt O'Leary from Virgin Media felt the song was one of the only "melodic" mentions on Tangled Up.
"Can't Speak French", the fifth song on the record, is a "sultry" midtempo number that features electric guitars and synths, similar to what was used during the phase of smooth jazz music. Likewise, "Black Jacks" is another midtempo recording that boasts 1960s-psychedelic music, and was compared to the work of Toni Basil and Sugababes. Another melodic track to Tangled Up, it was selected by some critics as one of the "finest" moments from both the album and Girls Aloud's career. "Black Jacks" was originally recorded for the group's previous studio album Chemistry but left out of the album for unknown reasons. The seventh track, "Control of the Knife", is a reggae and ska-influenced tune that incorporates a variety of trumpets, drum machines and synthesizers. During the song's chorus, an uncredited male singer performs the lines "Got sweet hassle, sweet talking me / Got cheap babble, cheap talking free," through vocoder effects. "Fling" was described by DIYs Stuart McCaighy as a "trademark GA" track, signifying its "beefed-up dancefloor" sound and rap section as examples. Similarly, Nick Levine at Digital Spy noticed that the track saw Girls Aloud on "full vamp-mode".
The ninth song is "What You Crying For", first described by Cheryl as a "garage-sound track". However, critics refuted these comments by defining its sound as drum and bass, with influences of pop and two-step garage. Despite a negative remark by McCaighy, many other music editors highlighted the production as "forward-thinking" and believed the members "excelled themselves". The "futuristic" "I'm Falling" includes "squelchy sounds with a punky guitar", which was later compared to Girls Aloud's track "Graffiti My Soul" by BBC Music's Talia Kraines. "Damn" was one of the only tracks that was not frequently discussed by critics in their reviews for Tangled Up, but the pop rock-number was criticized for not sonically "blending" with the rest of the material. The album closer, "Crocodile Tears", is a mid-tempo pop rock song that focuses more on the members' "intelligent" vocal performances, an element to which was never highlighted in their previous work, as mentioned by AllMusic's John Lucas.
Release and packaging
Tangled Up was first released in Ireland on 16 November 2007, and then throughout Europe on 19 November 2007. It was distributed by Fascination in two physical formats—a standard compact disc and a special jewelcase packaging— and was available for digital consumption through Polydor. The record was issued through the iTunes Store and Amazon Music worldwide the following year by Polydor, and on 7 October 2015, Tangled Up, along with various other musical releases by Girls Aloud, were released in North America. The artwork has the group's name and the album title hung on several long black rods in front of a purple background. The lyrics for each song were not featured in the accompanying booklet. The title of the album, Tangled Up, derives from a sentence of the album track "Close to Love". It is the only Girls Aloud album cover art not to feature the members; it received negative remarks from commentators for its "boring" context and imagery.
A fan edition of Tangled Up was also available through Girls Aloud's official website; the artwork incorporates each of the members holding onto long thick metal wires covered in rubber, while the original photos were placed inside the booklet. Additionally, the CD came with the lyrics and signed postcards. Despite the change, which was positively received, the artwork was noted by critics for its slightly uneven display of member Nicola Roberts, whose photo occupies marginally less space than those of the remaining four members, as described by Fraser McAlphine of BBC Music.
Mixed Up