Pussycat Dolls: 'Doll Domination'

When the Pussycat Dolls are good, they're actually pretty fabulous. A case in point is their current single, 'When I Grow Up', a thrilling pop stomper with lyrics that could pass for either satire or autobiography ("When I grow up... I wanna have groupies"). The video, which features four slickly-choreographed dance routines and many more glimpses of pert breasts and toned tummies, is also stupidly enjoyable.

But 'When I Grow Up' also highlights the group's design fault: they look good, dance well and a couple of them can carry a tune, but the Dolls don't show much in the way of personality. Who, die-hard fans aside, could name more than one of them? Even Nicole Scherzinger, the prettiest, most talented Doll with the F1 star boyfriend, is curiously lacking in star quality, which is presumably why her label won't release her year-old solo album. With lucrative sidelines in cosmetics, shoes, reality shows and lingerie, the Pussycat Dolls often feel like a brand as opposed to a group of distinct invididuals.

Because of this, they're almost entirely at the mercy of the people who craft their hits. Everyone involved with the group seems to know this, which is why each of Doll Domination's first six tracks comes from a different trendy beatsmith: Rodney Jerkins, Sean Garrett, Polow Da Don, Cutfather & Joe, Chase N. Cashe, R. Kelly. One of them's got to come up with a smash sooner or later, right?

The result is an over-long, patchy album that lacks any kind of lyrical cohesion. The Dolls flit from playing shameless gold-diggers to mushy romantics to wronged women to horny clubbers. One minute they're offering to cook the boyfriend breakfast, the next they're threatening to beat him up. By the end of the album, you're left wondering if you've been listening to five rather schizophrenic fembots for the past hour or so.

This isn't to say that individual tracks don't hit the spot. Nothing here matches the hyperactive brilliance of 'When I Grow Up', but future single 'I Hate This Part' is wonderfully melodramatic, 'Bottle Pop' is a neat rip-off of Britney's Blackout sound and each of the four Timbaland productions is bang on the money. If you've ever wondered what Mr. Mosley would come up with if he lured Tina Turner into the studio, the blistering 'In Person' will give you the answer.

Sadly, about half the album is merely so-so - there are too many anonymous, uninspiring R&B jams here. Just as the Pussycat Dolls are a pop group for the multimedia brand era, Doll Domination is an album for a time when almost can make an iTunes playlist. There's a sharp, sexy 10-track album hiding inside this sprawling 18-track one. Just don't expect to learn much about the people singing it.


> Click here to read our recent interview with the Pussycat Dolls