Little Mix – Salute

Little Mix – Salute
Review by Emelia Aukee 

Salute – Little Mix: Welcome back girl groups and Little Mix is in the lead.

Are you ready ladies?

The 2011 UK XFactor winners are not just releasing a sophomore album – they are calling you to attention to listen Tuesday, February 4th. This is not a drill, this is a call to action from four girls. If you thought their debut album DNA was something to listen to, well they weren’t finished, they were far from it. Little Mix is one of the only groups out there right now in the pop stream that has quite literally took one million steps forward from their first album to their second.

Whether you are searching for some R&B harmonies from Destiny’s Child or the catchy pop from the Spice Girls, I can promise you Salute gives you that and much more. They aren’t young girls anymore fresh from their XFactor win, they are artists in the pop industry begging you to take a listen. From their call to action opening of the title track “Salute” you are drawn to hear more. But it isn’t until you’re moving onto their single “Move” where you are hooked into the pop beats literally making you want to get up and dance. It isn’t just catchy but it shows off the vocals of specifically members Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards, as you can literally hear the growth from their first single “Wings” with their personal growl-esq type touches. The pop elements aren’t done making their way through the album but are only grown into incredible dance songs like “Nothing Feels Like You.” Where the African infectious beats are tied to a grand finale finishing the song with a bridge Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock belt out making you never want the song to end.

It isn’t until “Boy” though where you hear something that is out of this world from the four girls. About a full minute introduction full of raw harmony acapella that leaves your jaw dropping wondering where female vocals have been since Destiny’s Child. Leading into a heavy R&B style that was extremely lacking from their first album DNA. The influences this album carries shows their internal growth as artists and is shown off specifically in “Boy.” It puts out this message for girls to hear that you really don’t need a boy to hold you down, because you truly don’t need him, you got four girls begging you he isn’t worth it. Finally when talent can be expressed in a pop album again. An a capella opening in remembrance to the old Destiny’s Child age but with their British edge.

Anyone remember the breathtaking ballad “Turn Your Face” from DNA? Well it isn’t the only breathtaking ballad that has left you in tears from Little Mix. “Good Enough” has a very similar set up to “Turn Your Face” a piano leading the way with the girls four voices overpowering reminding you of what makes Little Mix so special – it’s a girl band with no lead singer – but four. The mixture of four individuals with lead vocals that are all lead singers in this group, making a true “little mix” of four styles and four unique women. Jesy Nelson’s performance leaves you wondering if this song was written specifically about her experiences. Her tearful voice is only brought out in the album once again in another song “These Four Walls.” But what  “Good Enough” does is that it brings out the message that all girls wonder about after a breakup, the overall question that haunts us more than anything when our heart gets broken. It is handled so delicately through their soft voices you feel as though they are singing directly into your first broken heart.

Salute overall shows how much artists can grow from album to album. DNA was full of filler songs that did not represent Little Mix to their full potential. Sure, Salute has its share of filler songs but they don’t sound like the way they did on DNA. For example “Competition” and “Mr Loverboy” prove that point. They are filling up space on the album but aren’t leaving you wondering “it could’ve been better.” Remarkably something I don’t think most people will recognize about this album is that Edwards, Nelson, Pinnock, and Thirlwall wrote more than half of the songs. These girls have dedicated themselves to their music in a way a lot of other pop acts right now under their “stigma” haven’t. Their music directly speaks from the heart and you can feel it. From the African beats, the infectious pop sound, the harmonies, to the scatting on “Stand Down,” their talent shouldn’t go unnoticed. It’s an album for girls of all ages to feel empowered by and for boys to hear for every girl’s story. You never saw this coming, and it is Little Mix’s time to shine. And that’s the development right there. They have moved from girls to women in under a year to show what true professionalism and what they want to put out there as their music, being proud of what work they have done. As the #1 girl group since the Spice Girls there is a reason why they’ve beaten their records, and set a new standard for what “girl groups” should withstand.

This is their time to show what young women can do, and they better start getting that recognition. This isn’t a sophomore album attempt – it’s a masterpiece to the pop music culture of today that needs to be recognized.

Ladies, let’s break it down.

Overall Rating: 5/5
Recommended Tracks: “Nothing Feels Like You” and “Boy”
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