What's with all the good looking 40 year-old female singers? First Madonna, now Bananarama. A few years ago, youthful listeners (fueled with a hea1thy dose of tall poppy syndrome) could denigrate any ageing pop star's comeback by kindly pointing out that whilst they may have their top 10 singles, we still have firm breasts and perky arses. Now, we've got nothing on them. Instead divas like Bananarama prove that 40 year-old songstresses can have both beauty and the beats.
In reviving their '80s glory days for their latest album Drama, Bananarama have ditched threesomes for twosomes - the remaining members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward have contemporised Bananarama's style by teaming up with Brian Higgins of Xenomania who has produced pop hits for both Girls Aloud and Rachel Stevens. Bananarama is still 100% pop and full of saccharine sweet goodness, yet Drama is more dance-orientated than their previous albums. Tracks like Move In My Direction, Feel For You and I Love The Way are giddy melodious gems and demonstrate Bananarama's ability to translate their sound to current taste. Likewise, Frequency and the Goldfrapp-esque Waterfall are both seductive and provide Drama with a deeper texture.
Unfortunately, whilst it does feature some fantastic electro-pop tunes, tracks like Middle Of Nowhere or the disco-inspired Don't Step On My Groove are vacuous due to Sara and Keren's fluffy unison vocals. It is these weak songs coupled with the uninspiring dance remixes of Venus and Really Saying Something which prevent Drama from becoming a truly innovative pop album.
Although it has its moments, it is missing that certain je ne sais quoi that other pop albums like Annie's Anniemal or the Sugababes' Taller In More Ways have.