3/5 stars
Little Mix is probably best known for beating out One Direction to win The X Factor in 2012. The show launched their career, but the girl group now lags behind their male counterpart in popularity, at least on this side of the pond. While boy bands are "in" again, girl groups seem to remain definitively uncool ever since The Pussycat Dolls broke up —
Little Mix, composed of Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall , produces an infectious brand of power pop. On their sophomore album "Salute," Little Mix takes a half-step away from their more dance-heavy album "DNA."
Little Mix's sound falls somewhere between The Veronicas and Destiny's Child. The women of Little Mix all have beautiful voices that harmonize with hair-raising perfection. Maybe it's more like if The Spice Girls was made up of four Christina Aguileras. They spit out lightning-fast lyrics with a light '90s house vibe.
The title track gives a false impression of what is to come. "Salute" is a shoulder-swaggering jaunt that stands to replace Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)" as my girl power anthem of choice. It seems as if Little Mix got out all their fierceness and angst in "Salute" as they shout, "Divas! Queens! We don't need no man! Salute!"
The album is chock-full of kiss-off tunes and string-heavy ballads bemoaning love gone awry that don't quite hit the mark. Nearly every song boasts an empowering 'control your own life' hook, yet I struggle to find a single song that isn't about a boy, including a song called "About the Boy." With lyrics like "Boys will be boys / I've got plenty knocking on my door / But none of them compare / Baby, you're the one I'm waiting for," it's hard to know which message to latch onto.
"Salute" leaves you looking for something more. Many of the songs sound like not-quite-as-good versions of songs released over the past decade. "Nothing Feels Like You" sounds oddly like Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" once it hits the chorus. "See Me Now" is a less slinky and sultry version of The Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons." The album never quite escapes the realm of cliché love songs (take the lyric "All these tears I can't erase" from "Towers" as a reference) and fun dance tunes.
"Salute" may not be the most sophisticated or nuanced album, but Little Mix provides a little spot of early-winter sunshine courtesy of the UK. They incorporate elements of a cappella in their bubbly pop tunes that make me feel nostalgic and hopeful for a new era of girl groups.
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