The Saturdays Shine on Fourth Album

Last month The Saturdays released their fourth record and their American debut album Living for the Weekend. The group is made up of five women from England and Ireland and their infectious brand of pop music has sorely been missed since the demise of girl group greats such as Destiny's Child, Pussycat Dolls and Danity Kane.
There are so many great songs on this record but the three best were released as singles. "What About Us" is a reggae inspired song that features Sean Paul. While this version was released abroad the solo Saturdays version was released as their debut American single. The song is catchy and features lyrics pleading to give love a second chance. "Gentleman" is an R&B song about how hard it is to find a gentleman in this day and age. The song features sassy vocals by the band and it's pure fun. "Disco Love" is a disco inspired song about falling in love and features nostalgic lyrics.
"We got the disco love, so fun and colorful/ It's never winter when it's Donna Summer all year long/ You take me back in time, to 1979/ We'll be at the Bee Gees, baby everybody staying alive," The girls sing before the chorus.
The girls experiment with different genres. There's R&B cuts like "Leave a Light On," "Lease My Love" and "You Don't Have the Right." Most of the album though is straight up dance-pop cuts. "Not Giving Up" is a house inspired song about not giving up on love. "30 Days" and "Anywhere With You" are dance cuts that deal with being apart from significant others while on tour. "Problem With Love" is a fast song about the ups and downs of relationship and has a dubstep inspired breakdown. "Don't Let Me Dance Alone" is a dance song about wanting to go out dancing while their boyfriends want too stay in. The album closes with "Somebody Else's Life" which is about how sometimes life is so good, you can't believe it.
The Saturdays are a girl group to get excited about. Their American debut is great and hopefully they blow up like they deserve.

Kelly Rowland Airs "Dirty Laundry" On Fourth Album

Former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland's first three albums were great. From the soul-rock of Simply Deep to the urban sounds of Ms. Kelly and the R&B and dance jams on Here I Am, Rowland ha always made great albums. The only issue with the albums in the past was Rowland's lack of writing on each record. While she wrote a few songs on each album, she rarely opened up and got personal.
On Talk a Good Game, Rowland's fourth disc she wrote every song with the exception of the first track, "Freak." Every song is personal and a piece of Rowland, the second single "Dirty Laundry" is more packed with emotional lyrics from personal experience than all three of her past albums. On that single Rowland opens up about an abusive relationship she was in and her relationship with bandmate and "sister" Beyoncé. The lyrics of the song are packed with passion and go along with a laundry theme.
"I was battered/ He hittin' the window like it was me, until it shattered/ He pulled me out, he said/ 'Don’t nobody love you but me/ Not your mama, not your daddy and especially not Bey'/ He turned me against my sister/ I missed ya," Rowland sings passionately during the third verse. That part of the song is particularly hard to listen to. A song with this much passion and honesty takes courage to write and release. This shows huge strength from Rowland and while there are no other songs as raw as "Dirty Laundry" although "Down on Love" and "I Remember" come close.
One of the standout tracks on the album is a collaboration with Beyoncé and Michelle Williams, Rowland's former bandmates, called "You Changed" The song has a great R&B rhythm and a verse each from Beyoncé and Williams.
Other highlights include "Freak" and "Kisses Down Low" which both pack a sexual punch. Another great track is the "Big Yellow Taxi" sampling "Gone" which features a guest appearance by Wiz Khalifa. The song is a breakup anthem that is sure to be a huge hit with the ladies.
While the album all but abandons the dance sounds featured on her last album, "I Remember" comes kind of close. Another highlight is the Pusha T assisted "Street Life" which showcases lyrics about the recession and gets a tad bit political.
While most of the songs are good some aren't up to par with the rest. "Red Wine" really doesn't go anywhere. It isn't a bad song, but it isn't as good as the rest of the songs on the record.
The album towards the end gets a tad bit repetitive and all of the songs sound the same, especially on the deluxe version. The songs are good, but the songs on the actual album are better.
The album is a great record and shows true growth for Rowland. This album will go down as her best record.