When British two-man, two-woman pop vocal group
Scooch debuted with
Four Sure in 2000, they went basically nowhere, since even at the height of boy band and
Britney insipidity, their sugary brand of bubblegum was just too over the top. Quite possibly the single most unapologetically naff band since the early-'80s heyday of
Bucks Fizz,
Scooch redeemed themselves utterly with their 2007 single "Flying the Flag," the U.K.'s entry into that year's Eurovision Song Contest and a brilliantly tongue in cheek three-minute slice of effervescent pop goodness that sent up the entire concept of the Eurovision song even as it was an outstanding iteration of same. To capitalize on the group's sudden new success, EMI reissued the all but forgotten 2000 album in 2007 with a new cover and the radio edit versions of the album's three singles, "For Sure," "When My Baby," and "The Best Is Yet to Come." In comparison to the giddy pop perfection of "Flying the Flag," these 12 songs still don't come up to that level, but the album does sound considerably more appealing when listened to in light of the group's more obviously snarky new persona: the songs are the same effortlessly silly techno-pop they've always been, but somehow the knowledge that
Scooch are themselves in on the joke makes it easier for the fluff-averse to loosen up and enjoy. Better by some distance than all but a handful of the
Spice Girls' singles, the best songs on
Four Sure (the singles and the
ABBA-like froth of "One of These Days," in particular) reach a pleasure center last attained by
Bananarama and
Kylie Minogue's late-'80s singles written and produced by
Stock, Aitken & Waterman. ~ Stewart Mason