Usually, a 'greatest hits' compilation is the death-knell for a manufactured pop band - the cue for one last cheque before the various members disappear into reality TV, WAG-land or just plain obscurity.
Not so for Girls Aloud as it turns out, for whom Sexy! No No No is their sixteenth single. After a stunningly weird chorus - all atmospheric synths, vocoder vocals and a strange sense of doom (honestly), it just explodes into a big burst of electro-pop that sounds like it's been beamed down from another planet.
The thing that makes Girls Aloud one of our greatest pop bands is still intact - their willingness (or rather Xenomania's willingness) to experiment and do something a little bit different. Sexy! No No No isn't even structured like a proper pop song - there's no verse-chorus-verse and it's not even that catchy. Yet it still sounds like perfect pop to dance around your bedroom to. That move into reality TV shows will have to wait a while yet...
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