Review of Get Weird by Little Mix

I've been a fan of Little Mix's music since 2013, and absolutely adored their sophomore album, Salute (review here). Thanks to their single Black Magic, they're finally getting some of the recognition they deserve in the United States, taking home their very first Teen Choice Award and becoming much more of a recognized name. Get Weird, their third album, tells more of a story than their previous two releases, while maintaining the confident attitude seen in DNA and Salute, but the attitude seems much more genuine with more ballads that seem to be there for reasons other than "oh wait, we have to have a few ballads on this album, don't we?!" That being said, the album does seem a bit more transitional than Salute did, with a few more weak spots, but it is overall a very strong album.

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Track-by-track review:

1. Black Magic - Black Magic was the debut single from the album, and is co-written by some of the same writers who worked on one of my (many) favorite songs from Salute, "Towers". Obviously, the lyrics aren't as complicated at all, but it's stood up to over 150 plays in my iTunes without irritating me, so this is one of the rare times I'll give a somewhat repetitive song a perfect score. 10/10
2. Love Me Like You - The second single and another very "throwback" song on Get Weird isn't quite as good as Black Magic but still quite good, especially vocals-wise. The wall of sound is a little overwhelming at the chorus, but that seems to be an integral part of the song. 9/10
3. Weird People - The title of this track makes sense — "Get Weird" is quite different from Little Mix's usual type of music in lyrical content. Some of the lyrics seem rather random, like the beginning about sitting on the garden wall and the bridge with the "something 'bout that boy". That being said, it is a fun song to dance to and the title is definitely appropriate. 8/10
4. Secret Love Song (feat. Jason Derulo) - Upon listening to part 1 and part 1 of "Secret Love Song", Part II is much better — the piano fits better than the seemingly random background of music in part I, and Jason Derulo's voice clashes with Little Mix's in the bridge. Personally, I believe this track should've been on the deluxe and the piano version on the regular edition, but it makes some sense to have the song with the guest on the regular edition. 7/10
5. Hair - "Hair" isn't groundbreaking in any way, but it is a fun track with some clever lyrics. One thing that seems a little strange is that the dirty word in both this song and in A.D.I.D.A.S. are bleeped out, but there is no explicit version of the album. It seems odd to include dirty words just to bleep them out. 8/10
6. Grown - What I don't understand is how more people don't know about this song. Little Mix premiered the co-write with Jess Glynne at the Apple Music festival, and the studio version is amazing. It feels perfect for Little Mix and fits perfectly on the album, even if it's a slightly different style for them. 10/10
7. I Love You - There are more ballads on this album than on either Salute or DNA, and they're better this time around, too. The girls' voices are beautiful and sound truly pained on this song, especially in the chorus, and the bridge has beautiful lyrics as well as excellent vocals. 10/10
8. OMG - One of the few throwaway tracks on the album, "OMG" sounds more like it would belong on an album from an artist like Britney Spears, Iggy Azalea or Meghan Trainor, which makes sense seeing as Little Mix actually wrote Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea's "Pretty Girls". It's way too reminiscent of Britney Spears' "Oops...I Did It Again", and although it does feel like a throwback, I believe that Little Mix could've been much more original on a track like this. 7/10
9. Lightning - "Lightning" is an incredibly cool track, thanks to the sound effects in the background, the Latin in the bridge and outro, and the general dramatic nature of the song. Like "Grown", it's not exactly Little Mix's typical style, but works very well in the album regardless. 9/10
10. A.D.I.D.A.S. - If nothing else, the sheer number of sexual euphemisms Little Mix and the other co-writers managed to work into this track is to be admired. (These kinds of songs are typically why country music is my favorite genre, just saying.) I'm not sure whether this song means that Little Mix will be moving on to more mature music or not, but if they are, that's obviously their prerogative. A.D.I.D.A.S. is a decent song, just not my cup of tea. 8/10
11. Love Me Or Leave Me - Like in "I Love You", the listener can easily hear the pain in the girls' voices, and although "love me or leave me" is a bit of a cliché at this point, the songwriters worked well with it. "Can't take this heart/Heal it or break it all apart" is an especially good lyric. 10/10
12. The End - "The End" is the weakest of the ballads on the album, even if it works well as a closing to the story of the standard edition. The girls' vocals are excellent in this track, but there's only so much vocals can do when the songwriting of a song isn't particularly good. 8/10
13. I Won't - Jess Glynne also co-wrote this song with the band, creating one of the many strong tracks on the album. This track also helps create the story of the album, building off the sad story in tracks such as "I Love You" and "Love Me Or Leave Me". 10/10
14. Secret Love Song, Pt. II - Although I can understand why Little Mix would be tempted to turn "Secret Love Song" into a duet, the part II version with just Little Mix singing sounds a lot better. It flows much better, and sounds similarly emotional to songs such as "Towers". It's also worth noting that it works as a sort of anthem for the LGBT+ community, which many listeners (including myself) are bound to appreciate. 10/10
15. Clued Up - Songs like these are the ones Little Mix does best, and the slightly stripped down nature of the track helps with the image it creates of rejecting rules and being perfectly polished and "dressed like everybody else". 10/10
16. The Beginning - Like The End, this track seems to be on the album for the reason of having neat little tracks at the end of the standard and deluxe edition. It's cute, but hardly substantial at all.. 7/10

Album Rating: 8/10

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