Review Summary: Time to take these girls seriously.
Experience tell us it is not wise to bet for the success of any winner of a talent TV show. However, Little Mix, the winners of the 8th season of UK X Factor, have done pretty well since winning the competition in 2011. Well enough to have released three records so far, but not well enough to be a truly massive international success.
Get Weird, their most recent work, will probably not get them there, but it will be not for lack of quality. The three singles released at this point are good enough to get them some attention, but they do not tell the whole story on how good the new album is.
Get Weird is perfectly attuned to what is going on in mainstream music nowadays. Tracks like "Love Me Like You Do" or "A.D.I.D.A.S." have this 50s-60s sound that Meghan Trainor has helped to popularize, but they are not merely rip-offs; they are genuinely good songs and are well performed. The up-tempo tracks like "Hair", "Grown" and "Lightning" draws from more current electronic styles, with stomping bass lines and odd electronic effects, and stand as the most energetic and experimental songs they have done so far. Their vocal maturity are showcased in the slower tracks, and prove these girls are more than competent singers and performers, in case someone had any doubt. The album's producer have done an excellent job layering the songs on the record, it just has almost the perfect balance between up, mid and slow tempo songs. When the album is explosive, it is full-on, and the ballads feel heartfelt and meaningful, yet the album flows nicely from beginning to end. (SPECIAL NOTE: I do not consider the four additional tracks on the Deluxe version as part of this album, for the purpose of this review.)
In this album Little Mix finally appear as a more defined entity: strong vocals lead by a blossoming Perrie Edwards, great chemistry between their members that result in solid performances, and songs that play to the best of their abilities. Despite the musical influences and trending sound, the girls no longer seem to try to emulate Destiny's Child or the Spice Girls. They have done an album in which they appear comfortable and confident, showing promise for better things to come.
Get Weird is a great piece of pop music, and one overlooked gem of 2015.
