2001 Destiny's Child: Survivor

Hot on the heels of 'Independent Women Part One' comes another treatise on....independent women. "Now that you're out of my life, I'm so much better. You thought that I'd be weak without you, but I'm stronger": Beyonce and the girls ramp up the 'I Will Survive' factor to the max by barking out their defiance in an overwound clock of bug eyed R&B that judders along under it's own self generated friction. There's a breathless intensity about 'Survivor', a no brakes hysteria that leaps into your face from the off and holds its breath until the finish. Nothing wrong with a bit of passion, but the brash humourlessness of 'Survivor' doesn't welcome the casual listener and the manic vacuum it creates is a bit of a turn off to be honest.