91Èȱ¬

The Saturdays (not to be confused with ) have recently been touring with Girls Aloud, to widespread critical acclaim. By which, of course, I mean that my friends and I liked them when we went to the concert. However, many future hopes for pop music have toured with Girls Aloud in the hope of crossing over into the big time, and the results have not been encouraging: just ask , , ...need I go on?

So what sets the Saturdays apart? Well, the amount of airplay that 'If This Is Love' has been receiving is encouraging, to say the least. And second single is amazing - quite why it isn't the first single is a mystery to me. Oh, and they have the novelty factor of possessing two former members of S Club 8 (Rochelle and Frankie, though the latter is almost unrecognisable with her new hair).

But is the song any good? Well, yes and no. Essentially there are two very good elements in play here: the Yazoo sample, and the chorus. Conveniently, these two do not overlap, but one or the other is in play at pretty much any time. However, the sample is probably relied upon too heavily (though I suppose it never stopped Rihanna in 'SOS') and once you realise that, the verses sound rather flimsy. The chorus, however, bears repeated listens. It's infectious and melodically strong, and mature, if that doesn't sound like a backhanded compliment.

Essentially, this is an impressive debut - The Saturdays have gone with the trick of releasing a song that doesn't sound like a first single, but sounds like they have in fact been doing this sort of thing for years and aren't even considering that this might not be a hit. And I think it will be a hit, in fairness; it's just a shame the verses don't support the song in the same way the chorus does. And it's also a shame that I can only give it four stars because I need room to mark upwards when/if 'Up' gets released.

Download: Out now
CD Released: July 28th

(Steve Perkins)

PS: Bah! According to the , the next single isn't going to be 'Up'. What is WRONG with the world?