Style and lyrics
Chemistry explores a more innovative approach to pop music,straying from the typical verse–chorus form present in most songs. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that Chemistry is "a record that dispenses with the tiresome business of verses and instead opts for songs apparently constructed by stitching eight different choruses together." [2] BBC Music exclaimed that Girls Aloud "have resuscitated its corpse by wedding chart-friendly melodies to experimental avant-garde sounds". [3] The album takes influences from a wide variety of sources,including "everything from French chanson to piano-pounding blues to the clipped R&B of the Small Faces". [2] Rapping in the same vein as artists like Betty Boo and Neneh Cherry is prominent. [4] [5] Guitars are present for most of the album. Yahoo! Music says "there's nary a 'formula' in sight. There are as many sudden tonal and tempo switches as the tricksiest Chicago art rock band. And all but one song here gives guitars a starring role." [4] The songs are noticeably less rooted in electronic music,although "Swinging London Town" is "a dark,squiggly synth pop epic" and "It's Magic" is composed of "little Röyksopp-like keyboard riffs". [4] [6]
The album was described as "a concept album which relates to the girls and what it's like to be a twentysomething girl in London". [7] The Guardian said that the album's "lyrics sound like Blur's Parklife rewritten by the editorial staff of Heat magazine" and "holds a distinctly ambiguous mirror up to noughties celebrity." [2] Girls Aloud came under fire for the album's allegedly "dirty lyrics". [7] "I'm surprised that some of our lyrics have caused a stir. We're just having a laugh,and a lot of the songs are very tongue in cheek," commented Kimberley Walsh on the matter. [1] Sarah Harding said that songs like "Racy Lacey",which "lampoons promiscuous females",are "observational rather than autobiographical." [1] "Models" was also criticised for its use of the word "shit", [7] while "Swinging London Town" allegedly "toys with the girls' reputation for partying a little too heartily." [1] "Watch Me Go",co-written by former 'N Sync member JC Chasez, [8] also "delves into the [...] topic of bondage." [2] Girls Aloud receive a co-writing credit on several songs,namely "Wild Horses","Waiting" and "It's Magic". [9]
Songs
The album opens with "Intro",a 42-second introduction, [5] The end of "Intro" segues into the first full track on the album,"Models". The song "deals with men who try to assert their masculinity by sleeping with cover girls",but contains a "council estate girls made good" sub-text. [5] It received comparisons to Duran Duran's "Girls on Film" (which Girls Aloud once covered) and Madonna's "Material Girl". [4] One reviewer called "Biology" "the most faithful to this album's spirit of innovation,blending the kind of saucy cabaret you'd expect to find in a gin-soaked saloon bar with a glorious chorus of fizzing,gliding synths and deceptively breakneck beats." [10] "Wild Horses",track four on the album,"features a mock choirgirl intro segueing into a breezy acoustic-rocker [...] like a harder St Etienne." [4] It was also described as "a futuristic country &western club banger". [11] The song is followed by "See the Day",a cover of the 1985 Dee C. Lee single which has been "given a glossy 21st century refurb". [4] The version,described as "the obligatory Christmas ballad", [10] was largely slated for its lack of creativity and similarities to their 2004 cover of The Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You" (although some critics preferred it). [12] [13]
"Watch Me Go" was described as "deliciously slutty" and includes rapping similar to Betty Boo and Neneh Cherry. [4] [5] [13] The song's outro was compared to The Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps". [4] It was described by The Observer as "Eighties Boney M funk-pop." [11] "Waiting" was described as a highlight by The Sunday Times . [14] "Whole Lotta History" was called a "lush ballad", [3] and it received comparisons to the Spice Girls' ballads. [3] [15] [16] "Whole Lotta History" has also received comparisons to All Saints' "Never Ever". [13] "Long Hot Summer" was called "effervescent but relatively unexciting", [17] as well as a "well-produced,upbeat pop tune,with a great hook in the chorus" by The Sentinel. [18] The song,like "Watch Me Go",also includes Betty Boo-esque rapping. [5]
"Swinging London Town" received critical praise. It was called "a dark,squiggly synth pop epic a la Pet Shop Boys on the diverse characters –from wannabes to trustafarians –found in the nation's capital", [4] and that there "hasn't been a song since the Pet Shop Boys' 'West End Girls' that captures the ugly charms of London on a Friday night,but 'Swinging London Town' comes close." [11] It was further described as "a collision of warp-speed funk guitar riffs and distorted Giorgio Moroder-style techno-disco that unexpectedly drops into wafting movie-soundtrack ambience." [2] "It's Magic",a Nicola Roberts solo which was called "the album's hidden highlight",was labelled "weighty,sultry electro-pop [...] layered with beautifully enticing synth melodies." [10] "No Regrets",sung solely by Nadine Coyle,is an electro-bossanova ballad. [11] The album's closer,"Racy Lacey",is "a portrait song of a young lady in the style of Prince's "Darling Nikki" or Blur's "Tracy Jacks." [4] The Guardian called it "a kind of nuclear-powered Euro novelty record." [2]
