Girls Aloud @ Wembley Arena, May 26

Armed with a collection of adrenalin-filled pop songs, Girls Aloud strutted into Wembley Arena and a night of musical and visual hedonism seemed assured. But before long, it wasn't the 'Sound of the Underground' we were after - it was the sound of a taxi to whisk us away from this lacklustre gig.

There was simply something too mechanical about their whole performance. These girls sprang to fame when they were plucked out of the public on Popstars: The Rivals and were fairly easy to relate to. Now, the trappings of celebrity and pop commodity seem to have stripped them of much appeal. All five cut fairly emaciated figures on the stage, a look inexplicably favoured by many young female celebs, while each song seemed to come with an overly choreographed routine that deprived the night of a certain spark of spontaneity. Luckily they were pre-programmed to shout out 'Wembley!' in between songs, as at least that's one element unique to the night.

This group (accompanied by the real musicians hidden at the back of the stage) have undoubtedly notched up many belting pop songs in the last few years, but their attempts to replicate their high-energy sound often fell flat courtesy of a distinctly ropey sound mix. Whether it was due to the mixing desk or the notoriously temperamental Wembley acoustics, the end result sapped the gig of atmosphere and made for a surprisingly disengaging affair.

The girls can all sing competently enough, with Nadine's lungs certainly the most impressive. However, she has bizarrely developed an annoying habit of mangling the final syllables of many words. So when she comes to sing a word like 'control', it will emerge from her lungs as 'contro-oo-oh-oo-ole'. Perhaps Nadine should launch her inevitable solo career with a cover of 'Old
MacDonald Had a Farm'?

It might be a bit silly to dub the tour a 'greatest hits' tour, given that they played almost all of their singles on their last live jaunt, but at least they did try something new on a few occasions. 'Life Got Cold' was cleverly reworked into an amusing reggae-flavoured ditty, which helped to at least disguise the fact that it was a 'Wonderwall' rip off in the first place. Their recent cover version of 'I Think We're Alone Now' was delivered in an interesting slowed-down version, full of kitsch, with the stage turned into a makeshift casino in homage to the video.

Sadly, the medley of 'Dirty Dancing' songs was tedious and uninspired, much like the overlong costume change sequences involving playacting dancers on the stage. Given the lack of clothes the group were wearing it shouldn't take that long before they return to the stage. The gig was a big letdown compared to the previous year's fantastic tour in support of the 'Biology' album, although that record's racey style was well suited to the matching visuals. This year's sedate affair would be best accompanied by complimentary shots of Espresso to keep the crowd awake.