I talked about Ugly the other day in my post about Mutya’s new single. I’d like to chat about Ugly for a while though, as it’s one of Sugababes best songs.

As I said in the review for Real Girl, Mutya has a real knack for writing honest, autobiographical songs that people can relate to. In Ugly, she takes the lead vocal and delivers a stunningly low-key performance.

For the old-skool among us, it’s a little bit like TLC’s Unpretty, except it’s more personal. It’s tackling the age old problem of beauty being skin deep. You could probably mention Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful in the same context.

I think the video’s particularly effective in this song, with Mutya singing the first verse to her reflection in a mirror. The remainder of the video features an assortment of offbeat performers supposedly auditioning. In the video, they’ve chosen unconventional looking people to back up the theme of the song, too.

A great tune and a rare serious moment for Sugababes:

That’s probably why Razorlight’s debut album Up All Night caught me completely off guard. On a few recommendations, I borrowed a copy to listen to in the car. This album didn’t spark with me on the first listen: Trendy indie-rock normally turns me off. Oh, and as a rule I avoid over-hyped bands like they’re diseased anyway.

It took a couple of listens to get into Up All Night, but this is good stuff. The album starts off inconspicuously with a single piano line then bursts into the radio-friendly Leave Me Alone. Frenetic drumming, crisp clear guitar lines and that English-Indie accent set the pace for the rest of the album. Anthemic indie pop.

The Best Bits

Up All Night is a strong debut, and it’s hard to pick out a track I don’t like. There’s something urban and sleazy in the sound, the lyrics, the delivery. The music is pounding and passionate.

As well as Leave Me Alone, the most outstanding tracks on the album are Rock N Roll Lies, Which Way Is Out, Don’t Go Back To Dalston and the title track, Up All Night.

The Verdict

Critics of Razorlight (or more specifically, Johnny Borell) have pointed out that they’re not the most original of bands on the scene today, but they’re missing the point. The obvious comparison here is Oasis. Their sound wasn’t particularly original, but there was something in the chemistry that people liked.

All hype aside, Razorlight’s debut is a cracker album packed with memorable Indie-Rock tunes.