COSMO4 "Around The World" Track by Track World Exclusive Review

Cosmo4-Around The World album cover

Forget the long-awaited Annie Lennox album for today I hold in my hands something even more beautiful, poptastic and long overdue. Forget even the overpriced Spice Girls reunion tickets! Its the arrival of Cosmo4’s album Around The World that is making me go all wunderba! This album has taken ages to come out and as of typing its actually yet to be released...but the wait is finally over! After four singles spanning over three years, yes three years, the Swedish girlgroup consisting of Yasmine, Ulrika, Jenny, and Rudina are on the crux of releasing the parent album from which the singles were recorded for! I can't stress this enough though-the album isn't released yet; nor can I find any online stores holding the release but I will suggest you watch closely to CDon and their Russian record company Style-Records who are planning to release the CD very soon.

1.What’s Your Name

Ok everyone knows this one for the girls tried their best to represent Sweden with the ditty this year and were robbed by the ridiculous The Ark. What’s Your Name recalls the feisty girlpower of Wannabe, combines that with the Sugababes Round Round and throws a touch of Robyns Handle Me in the mix to produce a brilliant start to Around The World.

Critical lyric: “Cruising the land looking for somebody/Not a whimp with a tan/Not a boy thinking he's a man/True to the scale/I need a real Alpha-male”

2.Peek-A-Boo

Cosmo4’s second single. This is a bit like Please Stay and hasn’t dated one bit despite coming out early last year. Personally I’ve always felt anything with “boo” in its title will always be a DontStopthePop classic and thus the girls are already onto a pop gem before the song has even begun. Boo!!!

Critical Lyric: “It’s a game for two! It’s a game I wanna play, I wanna play with you!”

3. A Girls Gotta Do (What A girls Gotta Do)

Ooooh, very electroDannii meets Holly Valance in a dirty Ghetto-like Soho nightclub. This song throbs and thrusts!

Critical Lyric: “London to New York/Nightclubs to Sidewalks”

4. I Think We’re Alone Now

Yes! Oh Yes! It’s a poptrash disco cover of that 1980’s hit single by Tiffany. Yes I know Tiffany’s was itself a cover but Cosmo4 go for the 1980’s version and throw an amazing beat over the vocals and the thoughts of big hair, leg-warmers and dodgy videos are put to bed. Cosmo4 completely alter the song into a ethereal electro disco anthem much in the same way the current mixes of Robyn’s Handle Me have absolutely altered the rnb jam into something completely else. Remember when Girls Aloud did Jump? At first it was a bit odd but slowly and surely their take took on a life of its own. Well this version of I think Were Alone Now is a bit like that! You’ll frown at first but eventually completely forget the covers by Tiffany, Girls Aloud, the Click Five and The Rubinoos.

Critical lyric: “And we tumble to the ground….And then you say….”

5. Shop Shop

Wow! This is more like Peek-A-Boo and their two other singles. This is dedicated to the past-time of shopping. Layered with a doo-wop latino baseline it becomes an instant pop classic all about burning money. Remember when Supersister did Shopping? Well this is in the similar vein but a lot better!

Critical Lyric: “From London off to Hollywood, to Paris down to Rome again, oh baby don’t you know I will never tire, I just can’t get enough of it, I’m really really loving it, I can’t deny-ieieieieieie my desirrrrrrrrrre”

6. Adios Amigos

You know this song cos it was their 3rd single so I wont go on about it. All I’ll say is it’s a brilliant reinterpretation of Cher’s Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).

Critical Lyrics: “I said adios amigos I gotta go, amigos bye bye”

7. Vida Loca

You might think this is another latino pop song. Well it kinda is but its so much better than anything J:LO has ever done. Well it just happens to be one of the catchiest pop songs of 2007 by a girlband. Coming in at 2:56 minutes it would be a perfect comeback pop song for Cosmo4. This is like What’s Your Name part two but probably a lot better. Vida Loca takes you directly to the beaches of Spain, Ibiza and Portugal and as such methinks the girlgroup should consider releasing something in that area rather soon. Around the World would be perfect for the iberian radios. Soundwise it sounds like Kylie’s Please Stay hooked up with Love At First Sight.

Critical lyric: “Vida Loca, ayeheoeoeoeoaoeo, aeoeoeohoyaoyaoya!”

8. Mexico

This was the first single back in 2005 and its simply odd. Wonderfully odd. It’s a bit Western, a bit like something from the LuckyTwice album and then out of the blue it has elements of a country album Jessica Simpson would do if she actually got round to realising how to record a catchy pop song. Despite being three years old (its been re-recorded for the album), it still holds its own purely because its such an unusual yet quirky pop song. You’ll hear nothing like Mexico.

Critical lyric: “In 1990 we took a little trip, went all the way from China to the mighty Missisip.”

9. Poor Romeo

Oh my Gosh! The Girls go hyper discoschlager! Nanne and Shirley move out of the way for the girls of Cosmo4 are walking through. This is the campest song on the album and demands to be released. The best way I can describe it would be if I compared it to Alla Flickor and the Jennifer Lopez early hit Waiting For Tonight. Girls Aloud would kill Xenomania for a song like Poor Romeo! This has to be the strongest songs on Around The World and reeks of smash hit single.

Critical lyrics: “Romeo! Oh my poor Romeo!”

10. What’s Not To Like

Ok, the girls slow things down. Is this their only ballad? Sort Of! Cosmo 4 turn all PussyCat Dolls with their attempt to go all rnb but sadly it doesn’t quite work. I am a pop boy so I might be a bit biased but after nine songs of pure pumping pop this song slightly jars. What’s Not To Like isnt a bad song but it doesn’t sit well especially after the brilliant disco song Poor Romeo. It starts off well as in it could actually eclipse the sublime ballad by All Saints Never Ever. The main problem of the song is it drags on a bit too long. It’s a fine song but it lacks the sparkle of the other tracks on Around The World.

Critical Lyrics: “Your looking at me, your liking my curves, I am telling you straight, you get on my nerves!”

Bonus Tracks:

11.Whats Your Name (Holter Remix)

Perhaps sensing that the Rnb stylings of Whats Not To Like didn't quite add up Cosmo4 included a discotastic remix of their already anthemic Eurovision attempt. And its good. Very good.

12. Peek-a-Boo (Soundfactory Club Mix)

Soundfactory are usually into hardcore throbbing beats but on this mix they refuse to go do a house mix and instead do something very different and I can even smell a The Knife influence.

Conclusion

Around the World is a very strong pop album. Historically one might say its the sort of album that could come straight after Spiceworld. Loaded with anthems that will go down in girlband history, Cosmo4 have recorded a cd that all pop lovers should own. Its taken them ages to get to this stage but the girls can relax now, its done and hold their heads up high. Sweden has done very well this year when it comes to girlbands (Caracola, PayTV, Miss Match, LuckyTwice) and one hopes that Cosmo4 manage to get this cd out for fans who’ll adore this cd. At the moment its getting released in Russia but I think Sweden, Spain and Germany would lap Around The World in their droves.

I’ve been told by the powers in charge that the CD might get some kind of Itunes release so keep your ears to the ground. Songs that demand to be released as singles are Vida Loca, A Girls Gotta Do and the mighty Poor Romeo. In short, this album has to be released!

Critical Links:
Cosmo4 Official Site
CDon
StyleRecords
Cosmo4 Official Myspace
GoMusic (A good Russian music store that will stock Around The World when its released)

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Coming up: something very cool from PayTV, Soccx, Caracola, LuckyTwice………….