Battle Of The Girlbands

So you wait for one decent girlband song and then three come along at once.

The new Girls Aloud song "Something Kinda Oooh" follows the same formula as all their other up-tempo stuff. Four songs rolled into one. Check. Nonsensical lyrics. Check. More hooks than a pirate convention. Check. It's never going to convert any new fans but if you haven't been seduced by the most inventive pop group this decade yet, I don't think you ever will be. It's a shame that they didn't have the guts to release a fourth album instead of the obligatory three studio albums then a Greatest Hits. But from the look of the quite frankly astonishingly bad accompanying video and the behind the scenes Off The Record series, they just don't seem bothered anymore. It would take a brave man to bet against them splitting up after they've done all the promotion.

Reuniting 90s groups might be all the rage these days but I don't think anyone believed All Saints would join in. While promoting their last single, the group weren't speaking to each other, the Appleton book seemed to rub more salt into the wound, and after Natalie's shambolic appearance on I'm A Celebrity..., would anyone want to see them back? Well from the sound of their comeback single, Rock Steady, then yes.

It's not a patch on their glorious back to back William-Orbit produced singles Pure Shores and Black Coffee. But it's not an embarrassment either. Sounding very much like Girls Aloud meets Lily Allen, Rock Steady is quirky ska-pop with a pretty infectious chorus that should guarantee them top five at least.

You can usually rely on an absolute killer first single from the Sugababes, see Freak Like Me, Hole In the Head, Push The Button. But "Easy" is fairly disappointing on first listen. The minimal R&B sound of the verses doesn't promise much and when the chorus comes, it all seems a bit lacklustre. It is a grower but it sounds much more like an album track than a lead single and it doesn't bode well for their third line-up change.

None of the three singles are in the same league as their respective best stuff but it's good to have three really good girl groups around in this barren time for pop music, and it'll be interesting to see who charts higher when they're released next month. My money's on All Saints.