Last week, The Saturdays released their third studio album: On Your Radar.
I’m still not sure if I’ll ever get around to writing a complete album review as I did for their super solid sophomore attempt Wordshaker (which I maintain is still VERY GOOD), but I can say that On Your Radar is just as excellent. Actually, it’s probably their best yet, especially considering the inclusion of “Notorious” (amazing) and “All Fired Up” (their best ever?), as well as some of the new uptempo cuts like “Get Ready Get Set” (LOVE!), “Faster” (kind of love!) and “For Myself.” (LOVE!)
But of all the new jams, there’s just one song that I’ve fallen for by far: “White Lies.”
From a producer’s standpoint, it’s hardly surprising: The track was crafted by two hugely talented Swede-pop geniuses: Carl Falk (of Nicole Scherzinger‘s “Don’t Hold Your Breath, Darren Hayes‘ “Black Out The Sun” and “Bloodstained Heart” and most importantly, Lindsay Lohan‘s “Disconnected”) and Rami Yacoub, responsible for basically all of …Baby One More Time and Oops!…I Did It Again. I mean…need I say more?
“White Lies” is absolutely brilliant–a surging, scorching pop number full of blazing four-to-the-floor synths, Nintendo-like 8-bit bleeps and blips and a soaring, guilt-ridden belter of a chorus: “Oooh, it’s time to talk about truth now/It’s time I/It’s that time that you know what you’re getting into now/These white lies, these white lies!” (Not to mention it’s MAJOR series of lyrics in general.) It’s explosive. It’s defining. It’s EVERYTHING.
As far as making a more stellar splash on the charts (which The Sats have long struggled to do), this track’s got enough of a potent power-pop mmph to really make a statement.
But after the lukewarm reception to the equally lukewarm “My Heart Takes Over” (dropping from #15 to #28 after just two weeks), an astonishingly dismal debut at #23 on the UK Albums Chart with On Your Radar, and murky waters regarding Una‘s pregnancy and Frankie‘s mystery illness (which has resulted in a weird “part-time commitment“), it’s not clear exactly where The Sats are headed after this. Well, besides on tour.
For now, let’s simply appreciate this complete and utter slice of pop perfection.
On Your Radar was released on November 21. (iTunes UK)
