Tangled Up by Girls Aloud

Tangled Up is the fourth studio album by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud. It was released through Fascination and Polydor Records on 16 November 2007, and distributed in two physical formats and available for digital consumption. The record was produced by Brian Higgins and production team Xenomania; the band members earned songwriting credits for two tracks. Production and development began with each member meeting with Higgins to discuss their personal and professional experiences since the release of their third album Chemistry (2005). It was recorded separately between April and July 2007. According to member Cheryl, Tangled Up emphasizes a more mature nature than their previous efforts. Musically, it is a pop album that incorporates elements of dance-pop, synthpop, and various EDM sub-genres. Lyrically, it delves into themes of love, relationships and femininity. Majority of the numbers consists of synthesizers, drum machines, electric and acoustic guitars, and keyboards, whilst it was the group's first experimentation with tools such as autotune and vocoder. Upon its release, Tangled Up received universal acclaim from music critics, who commended the dance-oriented sound, songwriting and fun production. However, minor criticism was aimed towards certain inclusions on the record. Despite this, Tangled Up has been identified by numerous commentators as Girls Aloud and Xenomania's best work. Commercially, it experienced success in the United Kingdom, peaking at number four, and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 300,000 units. It performed moderately in Ireland, reaching number 25, and was certified gold by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) for 7,500 claimed sales. In order to promote the album, Girls Aloud conducted a series of promotional activities such as television, commercial and magazine appearances. Three singles were released from the record: "Sexy! No No No...", "Call the Shots" and "Can't Speak French", all achieving critical and commercial success in Europe. Furthermore, the girl group embarked on their Tangled Up Tour which saw them tour in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Like the album, it achieved critical and commercial acclaim, and a live DVD was distributed on 27 October 2008.