Tangled Up
Encyclopedia
Tangled Up is the fourth studio album
(fifth overall) by the British
all-female pop group
Girls Aloud
. It was released in the United Kingdom
on 19 November 2007 (see 2007 in music
) by Fascination Records
. Like their previous albums, Tangled Up was crafted by the production team of Brian Higgins
and Xenomania
. Tangled Up explores a more electronic
aspect of pop music.
Tangled Up was mostly praised by contemporary music critics upon its release. The album spawned three top ten singles
, including the highly successful "Call the Shots
", and received a platinum and gold certification in the United Kingdom and Ireland respectively. The release was followed by 2008's Tangled Up Tour
, Girls Aloud's fourth concert tour. The album has sold 490,000 copies.
recorded her vocals from Los Angeles
. The process began with each member talking to producer Brian Higgins
about their lives, and he "takes inspiration from all that." Coyle said that with this album "The songs are all in the same vein, whereas the others have been quite random." In an interview for the Fascination Records
website, Cheryl Cole
said the album was "heading in a more mature direction."
The album title, Tangled Up, came from the song "Close to Love", the second song featured on the album.
, more electronic
approach to pop music
, in comparison to Girls Aloud's previous albums. The dance-pop
sound was inspired by the success of their 2006 single "Something Kinda Ooooh
". "Call the Shots
", "Close to Love", and "Girl Overboard" are all electropop numbers reminiscent of 1980s music
. The song "What You Crying For" is influenced by drum and bass
, a type of electronic dance music
. However, "Control of the Knife" is more inspired by reggae
and ska
, while "Can't Speak French" employs "jazzy guitar changes" and "Black Jacks" recall "sixties psychedelica".
Girls Aloud co-wrote two of the twelve tracks on Tangled Up, of which are "Sexy! No No No...
" and "Crocodile Tears". They also co-wrote and recorded a song titled "Hoxton Heroes", which pokes fun at indie bands. The song was deemed too controversial for Tangled Up and therefore omitted from the album; however, the song was released as a B-Side to "Can't Speak French
". Cheryl Cole said of their contributions, "We never got into this industry to be brilliant lyricists but recently we've felt more comfortable with writing bits and pieces."
said that "Call the Shots
" is her favourite from the new album, and that it "gives me goosebumps
". It was called "an elegant electro-pop ballad delivered with a restraint and maturity to rival groups of twice their age" and "classy electronic Euro-pop
with real edge". Digital Spy
also praised the song, calling it "more tasteful than some of the more lurid [...] previous hits". BBC Music
said that "Close to Love" "kicks off the energetic side of Tangled Up with a monster beat." "Sexy! No No No...
", described as a "pounding electro-punk number with an extended, vocodered intro", was called both "one of the most daring songs they've yet released" and "easily the weakest track." The Guardian
felt that "someone carelessly forgot to pack a tune amid the fuzzy guitars and synthesizers, distorted vocals and Sympathy for the Devil-esque whoops." The song contains a sample of Nazareth
's "Hair of the Dog
".
"Girl Overboard", which is "a tribute to Eighties electro-pop", is "a slightly ridiculous rave knees up with a vodka rush of a chorus". "Can't Speak French
" was referred to as a "swirling, slower cut with great jazzy guitar changes". The Guardian
called the song "a prime example of Xenomania's ability to throw wildly disparate musical elements together." According to allmusic, the song "achieves the kind of effortlessly sultry cool which the Sugababes
have spent a career striving for." It was also described, however, as "a bad joke or a stroke of genius" and the song's chorus was called "pure idiocy." "Black Jack", a "cocktail of glorious Northern soul-inspired chorus and belligerent terrace chant", recalls "sixties psychedelia".
"Control of the Knife" was described as "reggae infused [...] with an absurd mash of trumpets and synths". "Fling", track eight on the album, "boasts a manic shoutalong chorus" and "offers a kind of nuclear-powered punk-funk". "What You Crying For" is a "forward-thinking drum and bass track". "I'm Falling" was called "futuristic" and "a thrilling mixture of Prodigy-style beats and intergalactic synths". "Damn" was given poor reviews by the Daily Star, who said it compared it to "an out-take from their last album." The album's closer, "Crocodile Tears", was called "entrancing".
, and was available at a discounted price when bought together with Tangled Up. Jewels & Stone
are responsible for the album. Whilst the CD inlay lists it as an eight track CD, it is actually a one track CD of a 38 minute megamix of the tracks listed. A fan edition of Tangled Up was also available through Girls Aloud's official website; it is the only version of the album to contain a picture of Girls Aloud on the cover, along with song lyrics and signed postcards.
", was released 3 September 2007. It became their sixteenth consecutive top ten hit in the UK
. Sarah Harding
described the song as "edgy", and a major advance in Girls Aloud's sound. "Sexy! No No No..." was followed by the second single, "Call the Shots
", released a week after the album on 26 November 2007. The song debuted at number nine due to strong download sales and peaked at number three, spending a total of fifteen weeks in the top forty. The third single was confirmed on 15 January 2008 as "Can't Speak French
". "Can't Speak French" debuted at number forty-nine on the UK Singles Chart
on 24 February 2008, four weeks before the single's physical release. After the physical release the song peaked at number nine.
In Japan, "Sexy! No No No..." went top 20(#14); their highest charting single in Japan, but "Call the Shots" flopped at #68 causing "Can't Speak French"'s release to be cancelled in June 2008.
labelled it "yet another unrelenting pop masterpiece", also praising Girls Aloud for making "challenging pop music without ever losing their sense of fun" and calling them "undoubtedly the best girl band the UK has ever seen". Allmusic called it "a short, sharp and tight collection of some of the most exciting music in a particularly exciting career" and complimented it for being "a perfectly constructed whole without becoming a tedious homogeny". Virgin Media
described it as "ballsy pop with moments of eclecticism which [...] results in hair-curlingly exciting music" and stated that "the girls excel themselves". The List praised the album's "witty lyrics, insanely infectious melodies and soaring choruses that explode out of nowhere", as well as its "groundbreaking production from genius collective Xenomania
" and called Tangled Up "a standout example of some of the best British songwriting in years". musicOMH
described the album as "47 minutes of pumping, slightly demented electro-pop, with more hooks than a fisherman's basket and not a maudlin ballad or an ill-advised cover version in sight" and concluded by saying that "if you love pop music that's original, inventive and sometimes exhilarating, you need this album."
The Guardian
called Tangled Up "witty, diverse, experimental and viscerally thrilling" and "by any standards [..] pretty irresistible". Digital Spy
found it "fun, frivolous, catchy, sexy and innovative" and noticed that it is the band's "most danceable album to date". The Sun said Girls Aloud are "still at the top of their game" and felt that the album has "a more ballsy sound". NME
said the album "will continue the trend" and highlighted the songs "Fling" and "Can't Speak French
" as "unbeatable future pop hits".
However, there was some criticism for the album. The Times
said that it is "as predictable as a motorway, but fun". Yahoo! Music
praised songs such as "Black Jacks" and "Control of the Knife". However, the reviewer believed that the rest were "neither great nor grisly - simply so-so".
at number four. The album fell steadily, before rising back into the top thirty with the release of "Can't Speak French" and later the top twenty at 12. On 25 January 2008, Tangled Up was certified Platinum. In the Irish Albums Chart
, it debuted at number twenty-five. Since the release of "Can't Speak French" and the beginning of the tour, the album climbed back into the top 40 and re-entered the charts at number 12. It remained in the Top 40 until mid-June.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
(fifth overall) by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
all-female pop group
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
. It was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 19 November 2007 (see 2007 in music
2007 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
) by Fascination Records
Fascination Records
Fascination Records is a UK-based record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as an imprint of Polydor Records. The label was launched in spring 2006, and is managed by former TOTP Magazine editor Peter Loraine...
. Like their previous albums, Tangled Up was crafted by the production team of Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins (producer)
Brian Thomas Higgins is a British music producer who has written and produced albums and tracks for several highly successful pop music singers and groups, most notably Girls Aloud, through his Xenomania production group...
and Xenomania
Xenomania
Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...
. Tangled Up explores a more electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
aspect of pop music.
Tangled Up was mostly praised by contemporary music critics upon its release. The album spawned three top ten singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, including the highly successful "Call the Shots
Call the Shots
"Call the Shots" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
", and received a platinum and gold certification in the United Kingdom and Ireland respectively. The release was followed by 2008's Tangled Up Tour
Tangled Up Tour
The Tangled Up Tour was the fourth concert tour third arena tour, by British pop group Girls Aloud, in support of the group's fourth studio album Tangled Up. The tour was initially announced to reach arenas across the United Kingdom in November 2007. The shows commenced in Belfast on 3 May 2008 and...
, Girls Aloud's fourth concert tour. The album has sold 490,000 copies.
Conception
The album took around six months to record, partially due to the release of "Sexy! No No No..." falling in the middle of recording. Nadine CoyleNadine Coyle
Nadine Coyle is an Irish singer, songwriter, actress, and model who rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of the band Six before becoming a member of successful girl-group Girls Aloud. The group amassed a joint fortune of £25 million by May 2009...
recorded her vocals from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The process began with each member talking to producer Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins (producer)
Brian Thomas Higgins is a British music producer who has written and produced albums and tracks for several highly successful pop music singers and groups, most notably Girls Aloud, through his Xenomania production group...
about their lives, and he "takes inspiration from all that." Coyle said that with this album "The songs are all in the same vein, whereas the others have been quite random." In an interview for the Fascination Records
Fascination Records
Fascination Records is a UK-based record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as an imprint of Polydor Records. The label was launched in spring 2006, and is managed by former TOTP Magazine editor Peter Loraine...
website, Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...
said the album was "heading in a more mature direction."
The album title, Tangled Up, came from the song "Close to Love", the second song featured on the album.
Style and lyrics
Tangled Up features a dancierDance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, more electronic
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
approach to pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, in comparison to Girls Aloud's previous albums. The dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
sound was inspired by the success of their 2006 single "Something Kinda Ooooh
Something Kinda Ooooh
"Something Kinda Ooooh" is a song by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their first greatest hits collection The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
". "Call the Shots
Call the Shots
"Call the Shots" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
", "Close to Love", and "Girl Overboard" are all electropop numbers reminiscent of 1980s music
1980s in music
For music from a year in the 1980s, go to 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89For a history of music in all times, see Timeline of musical events....
. The song "What You Crying For" is influenced by drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, a type of electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
. However, "Control of the Knife" is more inspired by reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, while "Can't Speak French" employs "jazzy guitar changes" and "Black Jacks" recall "sixties psychedelica".
Girls Aloud co-wrote two of the twelve tracks on Tangled Up, of which are "Sexy! No No No...
Sexy! No No No...
"Sexy! No No No…" is a song by the British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Girls Aloud, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. The song samples Nazareth's...
" and "Crocodile Tears". They also co-wrote and recorded a song titled "Hoxton Heroes", which pokes fun at indie bands. The song was deemed too controversial for Tangled Up and therefore omitted from the album; however, the song was released as a B-Side to "Can't Speak French
Can't Speak French
"Can't Speak French" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
". Cheryl Cole said of their contributions, "We never got into this industry to be brilliant lyricists but recently we've felt more comfortable with writing bits and pieces."
Songs
Cheryl ColeCheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...
said that "Call the Shots
Call the Shots
"Call the Shots" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
" is her favourite from the new album, and that it "gives me goosebumps
Goose bumps
Goose bumps, also called goose flesh, goose pimples, chill bumps, chicken skin, funky spots, Dasler Bumps, chicken bumps or the medical term cutis anserina, are the bumps on a person's skin at the base of body hairs which may involuntarily develop when a person is cold or experiences strong...
". It was called "an elegant electro-pop ballad delivered with a restraint and maturity to rival groups of twice their age" and "classy electronic Euro-pop
Europop
Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ’90s...
with real edge". Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
also praised the song, calling it "more tasteful than some of the more lurid [...] previous hits". BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
said that "Close to Love" "kicks off the energetic side of Tangled Up with a monster beat." "Sexy! No No No...
Sexy! No No No...
"Sexy! No No No…" is a song by the British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Girls Aloud, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. The song samples Nazareth's...
", described as a "pounding electro-punk number with an extended, vocodered intro", was called both "one of the most daring songs they've yet released" and "easily the weakest track." The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
felt that "someone carelessly forgot to pack a tune amid the fuzzy guitars and synthesizers, distorted vocals and Sympathy for the Devil-esque whoops." The song contains a sample of Nazareth
Nazareth (band)
Nazareth is a Scottish hard rock band, founded in 1968, that had several hits in the UK in the early 1970s, and established an international audience with their 1975 album Hair of the Dog. Perhaps their best-known hit single was a cover of the ballad "Love Hurts", in 1975...
's "Hair of the Dog
Hair of the Dog (song)
"Hair of the Dog" is the title track of Nazareth's 1975 album Hair of the Dog. It is sometimes called "Son of a Bitch" because of the repeated lyric in the hook . The title is a pun on the refrain...
".
"Girl Overboard", which is "a tribute to Eighties electro-pop", is "a slightly ridiculous rave knees up with a vodka rush of a chorus". "Can't Speak French
Can't Speak French
"Can't Speak French" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
" was referred to as a "swirling, slower cut with great jazzy guitar changes". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called the song "a prime example of Xenomania's ability to throw wildly disparate musical elements together." According to allmusic, the song "achieves the kind of effortlessly sultry cool which the Sugababes
Sugababes
The Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...
have spent a career striving for." It was also described, however, as "a bad joke or a stroke of genius" and the song's chorus was called "pure idiocy." "Black Jack", a "cocktail of glorious Northern soul-inspired chorus and belligerent terrace chant", recalls "sixties psychedelia".
"Control of the Knife" was described as "reggae infused [...] with an absurd mash of trumpets and synths". "Fling", track eight on the album, "boasts a manic shoutalong chorus" and "offers a kind of nuclear-powered punk-funk". "What You Crying For" is a "forward-thinking drum and bass track". "I'm Falling" was called "futuristic" and "a thrilling mixture of Prodigy-style beats and intergalactic synths". "Damn" was given poor reviews by the Daily Star, who said it compared it to "an out-take from their last album." The album's closer, "Crocodile Tears", was called "entrancing".
Release
Tangled Up was released in Ireland on 16 November 2007 and in the United Kingdom on the following Monday. In addition to the album, an extra limited edition remix album was released. The bonus disc, entitled Mixed Up, was available to purchase only from WoolworthsWoolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
, and was available at a discounted price when bought together with Tangled Up. Jewels & Stone
Julian Gingell
Julian Gingell , known as Jules, is a British songwriter and record producer, best known for his partnership with fellow writer and producer Barry Stone under the name Jewels and Stone....
are responsible for the album. Whilst the CD inlay lists it as an eight track CD, it is actually a one track CD of a 38 minute megamix of the tracks listed. A fan edition of Tangled Up was also available through Girls Aloud's official website; it is the only version of the album to contain a picture of Girls Aloud on the cover, along with song lyrics and signed postcards.
Singles
The first single from Tangled Up, "Sexy! No No No...Sexy! No No No...
"Sexy! No No No…" is a song by the British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Girls Aloud, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania. The song samples Nazareth's...
", was released 3 September 2007. It became their sixteenth consecutive top ten hit in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Sarah Harding
Sarah Harding
Sarah Nicole Harding is an English singer-songwriter, actress and model best known for being a member of the pop group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...
described the song as "edgy", and a major advance in Girls Aloud's sound. "Sexy! No No No..." was followed by the second single, "Call the Shots
Call the Shots
"Call the Shots" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
", released a week after the album on 26 November 2007. The song debuted at number nine due to strong download sales and peaked at number three, spending a total of fifteen weeks in the top forty. The third single was confirmed on 15 January 2008 as "Can't Speak French
Can't Speak French
"Can't Speak French" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
". "Can't Speak French" debuted at number forty-nine on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
on 24 February 2008, four weeks before the single's physical release. After the physical release the song peaked at number nine.
In Japan, "Sexy! No No No..." went top 20(#14); their highest charting single in Japan, but "Call the Shots" flopped at #68 causing "Can't Speak French"'s release to be cancelled in June 2008.
Critical reception
The reviews for Tangled Up have been very positive. BBC MusicBBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
labelled it "yet another unrelenting pop masterpiece", also praising Girls Aloud for making "challenging pop music without ever losing their sense of fun" and calling them "undoubtedly the best girl band the UK has ever seen". Allmusic called it "a short, sharp and tight collection of some of the most exciting music in a particularly exciting career" and complimented it for being "a perfectly constructed whole without becoming a tedious homogeny". Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
described it as "ballsy pop with moments of eclecticism which [...] results in hair-curlingly exciting music" and stated that "the girls excel themselves". The List praised the album's "witty lyrics, insanely infectious melodies and soaring choruses that explode out of nowhere", as well as its "groundbreaking production from genius collective Xenomania
Xenomania
Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...
" and called Tangled Up "a standout example of some of the best British songwriting in years". musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
described the album as "47 minutes of pumping, slightly demented electro-pop, with more hooks than a fisherman's basket and not a maudlin ballad or an ill-advised cover version in sight" and concluded by saying that "if you love pop music that's original, inventive and sometimes exhilarating, you need this album."
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called Tangled Up "witty, diverse, experimental and viscerally thrilling" and "by any standards [..] pretty irresistible". Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
found it "fun, frivolous, catchy, sexy and innovative" and noticed that it is the band's "most danceable album to date". The Sun said Girls Aloud are "still at the top of their game" and felt that the album has "a more ballsy sound". NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
said the album "will continue the trend" and highlighted the songs "Fling" and "Can't Speak French
Can't Speak French
"Can't Speak French" is a song performed by British all-female pop group Girls Aloud, taken from their fourth studio album Tangled Up . The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
" as "unbeatable future pop hits".
However, there was some criticism for the album. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
said that it is "as predictable as a motorway, but fun". Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
praised songs such as "Black Jacks" and "Control of the Knife". However, the reviewer believed that the rest were "neither great nor grisly - simply so-so".
Track listings and formats
Charts and certifications
Tangled Up debuted in the UK Albums ChartUK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at number four. The album fell steadily, before rising back into the top thirty with the release of "Can't Speak French" and later the top twenty at 12. On 25 January 2008, Tangled Up was certified Platinum. In the Irish Albums Chart
Irish Albums Chart
The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...
, it debuted at number twenty-five. Since the release of "Can't Speak French" and the beginning of the tour, the album climbed back into the top 40 and re-entered the charts at number 12. It remained in the Top 40 until mid-June.
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
Certification |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
4 | Platinum |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
25 | Gold |
| UK Year-End Album Chart (2007) | 68 | |