Ten

Photographer: Benjamin Lennox.
The commemorative compilation Ten doesn't contain all the singles featured on Girls Aloud's previous anthology, 2006's The Sound of Girls Aloud, but it functions as an update. There is an eight-song overlap between the releases, including the number one U.K. singles "Sound of the Underground" and "I'll Stand by You." With the exception of "Walk This Way," all of the group's post-Sound of Girls Aloud singles, such as "The Promise" -- yet another U.K. number one -- are here. Four of the songs are new recordings: the almost harsh, Xenomania-produced "Something New" and "Every Now and Then," along with the relatively sleek and speedy "On the Metro" (co-written by Nicola Roberts) and the decent ballad "Beautiful Cause You Love Me." Despite the amount of new material, some of which is not up to par with the earlier smashes and certain album cuts, this is a handy sampling of Girls Aloud's biggest moments. ~ Andy Kellman