Out of Control is the fifth studio album by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, released on 31 October 2008 in Ireland and on 3 November 2008 in the UK by Fascination Records. As with their previous albums, the album was primarily crafted by Brian Higgins and the Xenomania production team. Musically, the album builds on the group's established sound while moving towards a more polished and mainstream pop direction. Girls Aloud took a more active role in shaping the album's creative direction, incorporating prominent 1960s influences alongside 1980s-inspired electropop.
The album received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its inventive, catchy and emotionally resonant production, although some felt it was less innovative than the group's earlier work. Commercially, it was a major success, becoming Girls Aloud's first studio album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart and also topping the Scottish Albums Charts, while reaching number seven in Ireland. It went on to become the group's highest-selling studio album, with UK sales exceeding 800,000 copies, and was certified 2× Platinum in both the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Out of Control produced three singles, beginning with "The Promise", which became Girls Aloud's fourth UK number-one single and won Song of the Year at the 2009 Brit Awards. Follow-up "The Loving Kind" became the group's 20th consecutive top-ten single, while "Untouchable" marked their first single to miss the UK top ten. To promote the album, Girls Aloud embarked on the Out of Control Tour from April to June 2009, before announcing a year-long hiatus to pursue solo projects, with plans to reunite for a new studio album in 2010; however, the planned album never materialised.
Background In November 2007, Girls Aloud released their fourth studio album, Tangled Up. The album peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), with sales exceeding 500,000 copies. It produced three singles with "Sexy! No No No..." reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart, "Call the Shots" peaking in the top three, and "Can't Speak French" extending the group's run of consecutive top-ten singles. The release of "Can't Speak French" coincided with their second television series, The Passions of Girls Aloud, which followed the members as they pursued various interests outside the group. In 2008, Girls Aloud received their second Brit Award nomination for Best British Group and embarked on the Tangled Up Tour, comprising 34 dates across the United Kingdom. During this period, the group also contributed two songs to the soundtrack of the 2007 film St Trinian's, in which they made a cameo appearance as the school's band.
The group's fifth studio album was announced in May 2008, while Girls Aloud were still undertaking the Tangled Up Tour. Recording took place during the summer of 2008 at Xenomania's studios in Kent, with the group continuing their established collaboration with producer Brian Higgins and the Xenomania production team. The group's vocals were largely recorded individually during the sessions, which Sarah Harding described as more relaxed than those for previous albums. In contrast to their previous releases, Girls Aloud's increasingly mainstream profile had a greater influence on the album's direction, with Higgins and the Xenomania team favouring more immediate and accessible pop material over the unconventional and experimental approach of earlier songs such as "Biology" or "The Show." Girls Aloud received songwriting credits on four tracks from the album, including "Love Is the Key", "Miss You Bow Wow", "Revolution in the Head" and "Live in the Country." The album's title, Out of Control, originated from a remark made by the group's record label, which reportedly described the members as "out of control" and said that they could not be told what to do. The phrase also appears as a lyric in "We Wanna Party." An alternative title, Girls Aloud: Revolution, was reportedly considered after the song "Revolution in the Head", although it was ultimately not used. The album artwork for Out of Control, which was photographed by Ian Bartlett, was revealed on Girls Aloud's official website on 16 October 2008.
Music Style and lyrics Kimberley Walsh has said that the album is "a lot older sounding, which wasn't intentional, it was just kind of how it went." The girl group were very involved in the album's direction. "The '60s thing is quite prominent," Walsh told the BBC. "But it's out of the ordinary. Not really what you'd expect." Nicola Roberts said that the album also features a lot of 1980s-inspired electropop. Sarah Harding said that Girls Aloud "wanted to stay upbeat but try something a bit different and advanced. I don't think anything we've ever done has ever sounded the same. But we have that same vibe whatever we do because of our vocals." Nadine Coyle said the "aim from the beginning was to come up with songs that didn't sound like anything else out there." Walsh continued, "We want to impress the fans with what we do, so we've tried to up our game with this album and step outside the comfort zone." Harding noted that the group sought to retain their characteristic upbeat sound while experimenting with more advanced and unconventional musical ideas. The resulting material was intended to represent a progression from their previous work while maintaining the distinct vocal identity that had become characteristic of Girls Aloud. Harding also emphasised the group's desire to produce songs that sounded distinct from other contemporary pop releases.
Songs The album's lead single, "The Promise", is a 1960s Spector-influenced number. Despite the popularity of 1960's pastiches, it was said that Girls Aloud's "go-for-broke, very modern re-imagining of Spector's wall of sound proves to be more authentic and entertaining than most other recent attempts". "The Loving Kind" is a collaboration with Pet Shop Boys. Neil Tennant said that they co-wrote the song while working with Xenomania, and described it as "beautiful but still dancey". Popjustice said that "the lyrics have the sadness and melancholy of a massive proper ballad but the production drags the song straight to the dancefloor and lends it an undeniable sense of optimism." The song has been compared to 2007's "Call the Shots", and has been referred to as both "a letdown sequel" and "the best thing they've ever done." "Rolling Back the Rivers in Time", which originally had a working title of "50s Sweetheart", was compared to Burt Bacharach. It features guitar from Johnny Marr, formerly of the Smiths, who also plays harmonica on "Love Is the Key".
"Love Is the Key", according to Digital Spy, "begins with the strains of a cathedral choir before lurching into a 1960s-style pop strut". It ends with "a bluesey harmonica solo in the outro." "Turn to Stone" was called an "icy electro banger", compared to "Róisín Murphy's moody kid sisters being remixed by 808 State". "Untouchable" is a six and a half-minute song that was called "fast, electronic and fantastic" with an immense build-up to the chorus. The song was said to recall New Order and "fuses blissful Balearic guitar lines with a pulsating techno throb". The song was later remixed and shortened for the single release. Track seven, "Fix Me Up", was compared to "the theme tune to a comedy sex film from 1975. In a good way." It contains a sample of Reuben Bell's "Superjock", written by Bell, Jerry Strickland, and Wardell Quezergue. "Love is Pain" was described by Popjustice as "an early-90s electronic sort of affair."
"Miss You Bow Wow", it was stated, "could well be the most exhilarating song of the year, being almost ridiculously danceable, having a gloriously soaring chorus and some surreal lyrics". "Revolution in the Head", a reggae-influenced song, features pseudo-rapping from Nadine Coyle. "Live in the Country" is a drum and bass track and "basically the sequel to 'Swinging London Town'" (from Girls Aloud's 2005 album Chemistry). It was described as a "drum and bass anti-anarchy anthem". The album's bonus track, "We Wanna Party", is a cover of a Lene Nystrøm track. Nystrøm previously co-wrote Girls Aloud's "No Good Advice" and "You Freak Me Out", and also has her own version of "Here We Go". Girls Aloud originally recorded the song for What Will the Neighbours Say?, but it was decided it did not fit.
Release Out of Control was initially announced to be released on 10 November 2008, but the release date was moved forward a week to 3 November. The Irish release date came the Friday before on 31 October 2008. In addition to the album, an extra limited edition live album was released. Entitled Girls A Live, the bonus disc was available to purchase only from Woolworths. It features a number of live performances from Girls Aloud's tours. Additionally, a double-disc collector's edition of the album was released 8 December. The box set comes in a DVD-sized case and contains a bonus disc containing unreleased demos and interviews, as well as a 24-page booklet containing photos and lyrics to all of the songs.
Singles The album's first single, "The Promise", was released as the album's lead single on 15 October 2008. The song is notable for its 1960s influence, with "production that tips its cap towards vintage Spector." The music video took place at a 1950s-and-1960s-inspired drive-in movie theatre, where a retro-styled Girls Aloud watched themselves channel The Supremes on screen. "The Promise" became Girls Aloud's fourth No. 1 upon release. It also earned the group their first ever win at the BRIT Award for Best British Single in 2009. "The Loving Kind" was released as the album's second single on 12 January 2009. The music video, directed by Trudy Bellinger, was premiered on 3 December 2008. In the run-up to the single's release, commentators began to speculate that the song could possibly become the first single by the group to miss the top ten. However, "The Loving Kind" peaked at No. 10 on the UK singles chart, becoming Girls Aloud's 20th consecutive top ten single. "Untouchable" was released on 27 April 2009, as the third and final single taken from Out of Control. "Untouchable" peaked at No. 11 on the UK singles chart becoming Girls Aloud's first and only single not to reach the top 10.
Critical reception
Out of Control received positive reviews from music critics. Aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised rating of 63% based on nine critic reviews, indicating "a generally favorable" reception. It was described as "their most melancholy album to date". The Times wrote that Girls Aloud "show no sign of flagging in their quest to push the boundaries of the pop song" and noticed that they "continue to be as inventive as ever." BBC Music described Out of Control as "a shimmering album of heartbreaking electro pop" and exclaimed that it is "pop music at its finest." Digital Spy found it "smart, adventurous, emotionally resonant and often very, very catchy" and called it "an absolute delight" and Girls Aloud's "fourth terrific album in a row". MusicOMH noticed that it is "chock-full of those trademark, otherworldy electro-synth songs" and concluded by calling it "yet another excellent album from a group who may have risen from a lot of people's 'guilty pleasure' to becoming full-on national treasures". Slant Magazine hailed it as "one of the best pop albums of 2008" and said that Girls Aloud "are in a position where they can let the music do all the talking for them". NME praised the songs "Love Is The Key", "Rolling Back the Rivers in Time" and "Untouchable" and stated that although it is "not their best" effort, it is "more consistent than any British indie album released this year".