“Go To Work”: Nadine Coyle Turns Your Nine to Five Into a Good Time (Review)

“You better work, work it, girl…”
“You better work, bitch.”
“Work, work, work, work, work…”

There are very few enduring truths in Pop, but one remains reliably valid to this day: a suggestion to work will always result in a great tune.

In the grand tradition of “Work”-ing girls, from RuPaul to Kelly Rowland to Britney Spears to Rihanna, Nadine Coyle is now throwing her stilettos into the ring with a strong recommendation of her own: “Why don’t you go to work?”

“Go To Work” is the re-debut of the Derry diva — Nadine 3.0, if you will — following a rushed first attempt at solodom in 2010 with Insatiable during an extended Girls Aloud hiatus, and then a screwy brief rebranding as Nadine 2.0 with “Sweetest High.” (It’s just “Nadine” now, thank you — Miss Coyle if yer nahstayuh.)

“Work” is easily Nadine’s fiercest solo work to date, providing the perfect pep in your step to the office, and — much to every hardcore Aloud fan’s delight — it’s also the closest we’ve come to new music from the whole lotta history-making girl group in years.

Why? Two key components from the troupe’s winning formula have teamed up yet again: Nuhdz of course, and Xenomania mastermind Brian Higgins. Reunited, and it feels so untouchable.

With Nadine solely running the show (reference) with Brian, one could only expect the campiest, dance floor diva-iest parts of Aloud to shine through. Thankfully, the duo did not disappoint, and the chemistry (reference) is very much still there.

“Go To Work” contains all the signature Xeno-isms: sass-filled lyricism and infectious, repetitive melodies seemingly pieced together like Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. (Don’t bore us, get to the chorus.) It’s a disco banger with big bright chords and shimmery synths and a modern air, as Nadine reliably serves up hair-flip friendly, strut-worthy attitude aplenty.

The message? Wake up. Get it together. Clock in, clock out, and bring the money home — just like Mama Nuhdeen’s done.

(Also, that “get you up in the morning!” pre-chorus melody sounds exactly like Sia‘s “Shine bright like a diamond!” for Rihanna — let’s get a collabo going, ladies.)

As if “Work” alone wasn’t enough, Nadine’s coming through with what already looks to be her best visual to boot, too. (Granted, we’ve only seen about thirty seconds of the clip, and she only has one other solo video, but still.)

The “Go To Work” video couldn’t be more on the money already: a taking-this-very-literally office aesthetic, fierce posing and a bit of man candy for no other reason than to supply a strong wink-wink to the audience she’s very much catering to with her return. (Hello, G-A-Y!)

See that? The unemployment rate is tumbling as we speak.

“Go To Work” was released on September 8. (iTunes / Spotify)