albums and tracks

Editor's rating

When The Saturdays appeared on our pop radar we felt sorry for them. Here were five girls dreaming of being the next big thing in a world where the Girls Aloud/Sugababes duopoly showed no signs of letting up. Then we heard their kick-ass music, and suddenly The Saturdays felt like a viable proposition.

First single 'If This Is Love' seemed to spring out of nowhere with it's Yazoo sample shining like an electro-pop beacon, but there's been plenty of behind-the-scenes work going on: they're signed to to the same label as Girls Aloud and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. And they certainly have a pedigree, with Rochelle and Frankie alumni of S Club Juniors, the irritatingly enthusiastic Mollie an X Factor reject, as well as soloist Vanessa. Then there's Una - eight years older than the others, she's a singer-songwriter who already oozes disdain for the project and could be their Siobhán Donaghy.
 
If we're looking for a word to sum up The Saturdays, it's feistiness. Although nothing can beat the robot disco of second single 'Up', there are only really one or two soppy ballads like 'Issues' that let Chasing Lights down.  Instead it's the fierce chorus of 'Keep Her' and the sass of 'Set Me Off' that get us excited. 'Work' is an irresistible dancefloor puller destined to be a single, while 'Lies' is an electro ballad that proves these girls will be taking no mess from the boys.
 
Energetic and fun, Chasing Lights is a promising debut. It's not perfect but it's better than any of us could have expected.
 
Talia Kraines