Little Mix Get Weird album review: plus sparkle, style and sex 

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Little Mix\'s new album Get Weird reviewed Little Mix\'s new album Get Weird reviewed

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You might not have noticed - but Little Mix aren\'t, erm...

anymore.  Suddenly, they\'ve managed two Top 10 albums in both the UK and US, an international profile as one of pop\'s most exciting girl groups, and a red carpet style that\'s a million seasons away from the "horrendous" (their words, not ours) outfits they wore on

. The performances are pristine, the sound is much bigger, and they don\'t shy away from talking about -

The latter point wasn\'t immediately apparent on their spellbinding hit \'Black Magic\' (the first to be released from this here album,

), which was largely down to the sugary \'80s synths and goofy music video. It marked a concerted effort for album number three to fully embrace their pop ability, stepping away from the \'90s R&B of its predecessor, 2013\'s

It\'s a formula they replicate on album track ​\'Weird People\'; a burst of nostalgic pop with more pizzazz than a Paula Abdul two-step routine. It\'s a call to arms for dance floor misfits across the world to get freaky and funky in the disco and shake off those insecurities. As hackneyed as the premise might sound, it\'s a message Little Mix have upheld for their younger impressionable followers from day one. So it\'s almost contractual that they carry it over here - in the form of a genuinely stellar bop, may we add.​

On \'OMG\' the chanty refrain recalls Charli XCX\'s chorus on Iggy Azalea\'s \'Fancy\' (as well as that bubbling bassline), setting them up as high school heartbreakers. And then the jangly jungle percussion of \'Hair\' almost becomes a hip-pop update of

\'s \'I\'m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair\' with it\'s so-over-it lyric. True: by this point, it\'s all still a bit too Nickelodeon.

But elsewhere is when they get - how they\'ve described it in their own words - "a bit more cheeky". The Motown sway of \'Love Me Like You\' doesn\'t fool us from sussing that when they coo "he might got the biggest ca-aa-ar" they\'re not actually talking about his Fiat 500. The bursts of vintage doo-wop brass over carnival beats on \'Grown\' give extra burn to the line "your voice dropped, you thought that you could handle me". And where do we even begin for \'A.D.I.D.A.S.\'?

An acronym for "All Day I Dream About Sex" (although in Little Mix\'s dictionary, sex = shhh), it\'s a slinky \'60s-inspired mid-tempo that sounds like Meghan Trainor\'s best. "We been busy doing all

, while we listening to Drake," they wink, before interpolating the Canadian star\'s \'Hold On We\'re Going Home\' using their luscious harmonies ("We on that hot love and emotion"). It\'s sultry bedroom pop at its most innocent, giving the four-piece their moment to sex-up their image without being Miley Cyrus-levels of explicit. There\'s no foam fingers here.

Little Mix have grown up emotionally on some of the more tender ballads, too. \'Secret Love Song\' is a sweeping slowie featuring US superstar Jason Derulo that soars highest on the perfectly polished chorus. The completely a cappella \'The End\' (which is the final track - well done all involved) puts their vocal talent centre stage for a timely reminder that they are actually very good at this whole singing lark.

is a sparkling pop package - one that is still suitable for Little Mix\'s tween following, while heating it up a touch for older ears. It may lack the sophistication of their previous collection

, but it makes up for it with bigger hooks and chewier melodies. So don\'t be fooled by their name: this is the biggest girl band on the planet today, doing what they do best.​

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