Album Review: Little Mix – Glory Days
2 min read
It’s only been a year since Little Mix released their amazing third album Get Weird. It was a solid mixture of R&B productions and throwback pop music, showing off their versatility and skill when it comes to reliving the past through their music. It’s only been a year since its release, but Little Mix have already returned with Glory Days, and while the short turnover might make you think twice about the quality of the new album, they easily manage to remain consistent and deliver another highly enjoyable album.
Glory Days has a significant difference from Get Weird, replacing its R&B style with synthpop and dance music. The throwback style, however, is completely intact. They hit their peak in this regard early with F.U., whose 50s girl group style, stabbing and sweeping strings and expectedly amazing harmonies are an easy standout for the album, and the follow-up track Oops—featuring Charlie Puth as the male counterpart to the rebound story told in the lyrics—offers a doo-wop spin that’s just as catchy as its predecessor. That’s not to say the following tracks suffer because of how strong these are, though, as You Gotta Not is still enjoyable with a more modern spin, and Private Show takes it even further with a modern synthpop track covered in brass samples to give it that throwback spin. This is easily what Little Mix do best, and Glory Days has them doing it at their best.
Even if they aren’t as consistent as the throwback tracks, however, the pop ones manage to keep up fairly easily. Touch offers their take on the tropical dance-pop trend, which works surprisingly well for them—even in acoustic form, when they tackle a more sombre take on the track as the final bonus on the deluxe edition—and the mix of militaristic verses and big dance choruses on Power is an interesting twist on a track that could have been left feeling generic without the surprise. The less enjoyable moments tend to come when they slow it down, with the ballad Nobody Like You and the synth mid-tempo No More Sad Songs struggling to fit into the mix, but they do hit it out of the park with Your Love thanks to the power of their joined vocals and the catchy hooks that rest in the chorus.
Glory Days is Little Mix doing what they do best. It’s obviously made for radio play and popular consumption, with even the throwback tracks being the biggest pop style of their era, but it’s done in a way that feels interesting and arranged in a way that allows it to flow seamlessly with the more modern dance cuts. With their stellar vocals placed on top, it all works together to make Glory Days an album that pop fans are sure to love, regardless whether or not you were a Little Mix fan beforehand.
