Today’s POP RESCUE from a fate unknown, is the Mis-Teeq album Eye Candy from 2003. Is this album worth a look, or is it one big Mis-Take? Read on…

‘You are now entering the Mis-Teeq zone, please refrain from any negative energy, and log into the Mis-Teeq shake your ass programme’.

As albums start, a welcome robot is a good place to start. This comes from the first track My Song, or the Intro of at least. We’re then soon into some phat bassy synth stabs, and a nameless man who ushers the Mis-Teeq trio into the track. It’s a catchy track, but in hindsight, it sits somewhere between Sugababes and Destiny’s Child.

Next up is the great #2 hit single Scandalous (StarGate Radio Mix), a track I remember getting a lot of club and radio play. This track really is catchy, and a brilliant piece of pop. I’m not sure what the non-StarGate version sounds like. This track was certified Silver by the BPI.

Can’t Get It Back is up next, and was the second single from the album. It appears to open with a funky uncredited sample of something, before breaking into some luscious beats and vocal harmonies. I’m also amused to see that Mis-Teeq sang everything on the lyric sheet including ‘Verse 1’ and ‘Verse 2’.

The fourth track, Dance Your Cares Away, is sadly not a cover of The Fraggles theme, but a rap-heavy track, which strikes a nice balance between Garage and their vocal harmonies again. All that’s missing is someone singing ‘Re-e-wind, when the crowd goes Bo Selecta‘. The track feels somewhat dated by it’s reliance on Garage.

All In One Day is made from reading the post-its stuck on main vocalist Sabrina’s fridge, then thrown over a beat. I’d skip over this, but give it one listen as it’s laughable. Skipping over next track Strawberrez will not leave you missing much – it’s a mellow improvement, although musically it’s not very inspiring, despite a brief Spanish-styled section played whilst someone shakes a rain stick.

We’re into rap again with track Nitro, with Alesha Dixon rapping with a laughing and ‘ho! ho!’-ing rapper called JD from the So Solid Crew – presumably laughing because he didn’t have to do anything except collect the writer’s royalties. Sadly, ‘2003‘ gets a few mentions in the lyrics, which of course dates the track instantly.

We’re back into catchy again, with Home Tonight featuring ‘Joe’ who turns up a few times to sing down the phone during the chorus. This is a wonderfully warm, mellow track that deserves some late night playing, and one of the few highlights of the album. Sadly, Mis-Teeq sing about how they’re thinking of ‘following through’.

The ninth track is Do Me Like That, which doesn’t stray far from the rest of the mediocre parts of the album so far.

Things get worse in That’s Just Not Me, which features a budget Shaggy, called Baby Cham, whilst they all sing over three bassy synth notes played repetitively.

Almost back on form, How Does It Feel is a welcome arrival. Mis-Teeq pick up the pace and harmonies again, pitched against some record scratching, but it does feel like a Destiny’s Child b-side. Best Friends follows this and again, feels like something Beyoncé passed over.

Far more interesting, musically at least, is It’s Beginning To Feel Like Love, which sounds somewhat different from the majority of the rest of the album. The vocals take centre stage here, rather than beats and bassline. There’s also no rap.

Pace picks back up with the album’s title track Eye Candy, which is actually quite a good track.

Then, we make it to the final track Just For You, and it’s one that gives all three members of the group a chance to take lead vocals, and a sample of Nahin Tere Jeha Hor Disda (which really helps keep it sounding interesting and different from the earlier tracks). It’s a fairly strong track, if self-congratulatory, but a good ending to a pretty boring album. 

Where Are Mis-Teeq now?

Mis-Teeq released one further album before splitting up in 2005, after which a Greatest Hits was released.

Alesha Dixon has had her own successful solo career since Mis-Teeq, and is a regular on UK TV.

Sabrina Washington has also recorded and released via her solo career, but she has failed to repeat the success of Mis-Teeq, or match that of Alesha.

Su-Elise Nash left the music industry.

Rumours regularly surface regarding a reunion.

POP RESCUE RATING:

Sadly this album stretches itself to 15 tracks, when 10 tracks would have been an easier candy to swallow. The album was later re-released as a 20 track album in a pink sleeve, with third single Style on it. I can’t imagine just how dreary that must have been, and how it took 20 tracks to find 3 singles worth releasing (‘Style’ was their worst performing single).

Every Mis-Teeq song takes at least four songwriters, which makes me wonder just how hard it can be to write this kind of music. Only one track took less than four songwriters – Do Me Like That – and that was pretty bad. Does it really take that many people to make them sound ‘this’ good?

This might be called Eye Candy, but it certainly isn’t Ear Candy.

• POP RESCUE 2014 RATING: 2 / 5 – scandalous, i know.
• 2003 UK CHART POSITION: #6, certified Gold.
• POP RESCUE COST: 99p, having already been reduced from £3.00 to £1.50, from a Cash Converters store.