STUCK RECORDS

N-Dubz – ‘Against All Odds’
UK Release 16/11/09 (AATW)

It’s difficult to know where to start when reviewing something like an N-Dubz album, because this is not an album designed with critics in mind. If you doubt this, wait until ‘Should Put Something On’, which does indeed refer to what you think it does – you shoulda put a condom on it. It’s as blunt a positive message (or a warning) as you can get, and proves that this is an album geared towards teenagers, the kind that might actually wear the hat Dappy (on the left) sports on the album cover. The lyrics – as much as you can discern from the speed and poor diction they’re delivered at for much of the album – often mention things like Facebook, or simply chant the famed “na na nayyy” that has lodged N-Dubz into the national consciousness. This isn’t an album for the ages, it’s an album of the moment, one that will be enjoyed by those who like this sort of thing for a few months and promptly forgotten about.

There’s a surprisingly strong orchestral injection throughout the album – string sections strike up in the background on several occasions, while ‘Say It’s Over’ has a melodic piano intro before the familiar shuffling r’n'b beats come back in again. N-Dubz also raise themselves above their contemporaries (many of whom have guest appearances on the album) by the presence of Tulisa, a sweet-voiced female vocalist who by her mere existence keeps many of the tracks from collapsing into inanity. Here we refer to ‘Say It’s Over’ again – the combination of the male and female vocals adds a sweetness to the song that makes the slightly blunt, simple lyrics have a keener emotional effect. Uncoincidentally the highlight of the albums is Tulisa’s solo track ‘Comfortable’, a traditional ballad that is the most straightforwardly-pop song here, and proves that there is some heart and soul in this band somewhere.

For the most part you’ll find yourself praying for even vaguely exciting moments such as the ’80s feel of the keyboard on ‘No One Knows’, because these are the moments that relieve you from the repetitive blaring and uninventive rapping that dominates the album. Guest stars like Chipmunk, Wiley, and Mr Hudson appear but add little more than a different vocal tone, although Greek vocalist Nivo does add a little spice to the tropical ‘Let Me Be’ towards the end. The album’s dominating sound is fairly engaging and entertaining at first, but hammered at you for twelve tracks with little variation it soon becomes old, and the odds are you’ll just give up.

**
David Upton