Review of the Wannadies "Be A Girl"

The Wannadies are an interesting little band all the way from sunny Sweden. They gained their fifteen minutes of fame with a contribution to the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack (theirs is that bright, loud song which immediately appears after the pool scene).

Be A Girl (1994), their third record, actually contains that track, officially known as 'You and Me Song'. It gets the album off to a great start and really sets the tone for what's to follow. It is amazingly bright and poppy and very, very catchy. Apart from established metal fans, this is one of those songs which people would find difficult to hate and it is certainly the standout on Be A Girl.

This formula of bright, catchy pop songs is repeated for most of the rest of this album. After listening to the opening track this seems like a really enjoyable proposition, but suddenly the realisation hits: if every song is going to sound the same, then they better be of the same standard else they're going to sound inferior. Of course they're not, so immediately there is a certain negativity about these songs.

This is not to say that these are bad songs, because they're not. However what is noticeable about the likes of 'Might be Stars', 'New World Record' and 'Do it all the Time' is how similar and formulaic they are. Good to listen to, but so similar and, unfortunately, not as good as 'You and Me Song'.

After being bombarded with pop for so long it is quite unexpected to hear the Wannadies begin to deviate from this pattern towards the end of the album. 'Dying for More' is the first such variation and is more of a traditional rock song with the guitars sounding menacing as opposed to friendly. 'Dreamy Wednesdays' also has the same guitar sound, though it can be seen how reluctant the Wannadies are to give up their melodic style.

The dizzy heights of 'You and Me Song' aside, Be A Girl is an album which shows remarkable consistency. Mostly a showcase of the Wannadies bright, pop style this is an album which has one good (but not very good) song after another until the end. Accordingly it is not the outstanding record it threatened to be, but it is a really pleasant diversion nonetheless.

RATING: 7/10

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