Girls Aloud

Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh came together through Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. “Sound of the Underground” immediately gave the group a musical identity beyond the television format: twanging guitar, a restless beat and harmonies with a sharp edge. The debut album followed in 2003, carrying “No Good Advice” and the same sense of forward motion.

The partnership with Brian Higgins and the Xenomania team became the engine of their catalogue. What Will the Neighbours Say? moved between the electronic rush of “The Show”, the wiry stomp of “Love Machine” and a very different approach to a ballad on “I’ll Stand by You”. Chemistry in 2005 pushed the writing further. “Biology” barely seems interested in settling into a conventional shape, yet its separate ideas fit together with startling ease.

Tangled Up, released in 2007, gave the group one of their strongest complete records. “Call the Shots” is poised and melancholy, “Sexy! No No No…” hits with a much rougher attack, and album tracks such as “Girl Overboard” keep the momentum going. Out of Control followed in 2008, with the retro sweep of “The Promise” sitting alongside a more electronic sound.

The 2024 reunion tour was also a tribute to Harding, who died in 2021. That context adds a different feeling to the songs, but the reason to return to the records remains musical. The voices sound distinct, the arrangements are full of small surprises, and the choruses arrive through routes that pop rarely takes. There is far more here than nostalgia for a television-era girl group.