Little Mix? Try confused mix. The girl group’s latest collection is a mismatch of dated pop. (Photo: LittleMix/ Twitter)

Little Mix are one of the hottest groups on the planet, but the X-Factor winners have had a tough year plagued with public break-ups, slut shaming, and copyright controversies.

Their fourth album, Glory Days, is their response. ‘Sassy, ‘naughty’ and ‘honest’ are just a few words to describe what they call their ‘break up album,’ labelling it as an empowered collection of tracks for girls and boys of any age. But Glory Days falls flat, feeling like a second-rate imitation of outdated pop hits.

It starts out strong: ‘Shout Out To My Ex,’ the first single, is inescapable right now. Hailed as the next break-up anthem, the track delivers strong harmonies with cheeky lyrics and an infectious chorus that sounds eerily similar to G.R.L.’s ‘Ugly Heart.’

Club-ready ‘Touch’ follows. It’s catchy, but the beats are a bit dated and there’s not much weight. On any other Little Mix album this would be a throwaway track, but compared with the rest of Glory Days, it’s actually a standout, and it will probably be their next single.

Then it takes a turn for the worse. ‘Down & Dirty’ is so unbelievably bad, it’s laughable. The chorus is simply “get down and dirty/ I know you heard me” on repeat. What is this- a dodgy club in 2011? It feels out of place: not just on the album, but in the entire Little Mix discography, sounding like vodka energy drinks and bad hangovers, not a fierce group of empowered women taking the world by storm.

There’s a lot of misplaced and often unnecessary elements, such as the scratching on the vintage ballad ‘F.U.’ and the needless echo effect on the slowed-down ‘Nobody Like You.’ There’s too much going on: an engine revs in the literal power-anthem ‘Power’ before a spontaneous dubstep-like drop appears. The last ninety seconds on 'Power' are the strongest; the blend between their powerful runs and the techno beat works well. Though it gets a bit messy at times, it’s still a solid track that could be a possible single.

Glory Days isn't just uninspired. It also sounds like a lot of different songs pieced together. For instance, ‘Nobody Like You’ could easily be confused for a Christina Perri track, while the beat in ‘No More Sad Songs’ is so similar to the Chainsmokers’ hit ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ that I genuinely thought it was a cover. ‘Your Love’ features Bieber-like pan flutes, and ‘Private Show’ is reminiscent of early Britney/Xtina. It’s a lot of copying-and-pasting old hits and not enough true Little Mix. Where’s the passion and the fire that spawned ‘Black Magic’, ‘Wings’ and ‘Salute’? It's definitely not here.

Meghan Trainor co-write a few of the songs, which could explain why ‘Oops’ and ‘You Gotta Not’ imitates her playful tone. It also emulates her conflicting and child-like lyrics, which read as ‘immature’ as opposed to ‘empowering’.

Glory Days ends on ‘Nothing Else Matters’, arguably the best tune in the whole collection. It’s a shame it’s last; not many people will make it through the odd detour of the middle of the album to get to it. The girls sound the most comfortable here, and there’s no whistles, pan flutes, or weird drops to be found. It’s Little Mix at their best, and proof that they’re incredible when you let them be.

Overall, Glory Days doesn’t sound like a ‘break up’ or ‘empowering’ album, and it does not sound like Little Mix. It’s certainly a bit naughty, but it’s mainly a mismatch of old pop hits, likely chosen by a bunch of men who believe that this confused mess is what pop music should sound like. The group is obviously trying to mature their sound, but Glory Days feels as if they’re stuck in the past. It lacks magic, charm, and most importantly, girl power.

3/ 5 Stars