REVIEWS:

x Spiritual successor to Call The Shots is the much ballyhooed Pet Shop Boys collaboration The Loving Kind. It's best described as a synth ballad and like many of the PSB female collaborations works well because the song suits a female vocal but you just hear echoes of what it would be like if Neil sang it in the back of your mind. FizzyPop

x 'The Loving Kind' fits alongside 'Call The Shots' and Kylie's 'The One' as a ballad-that's-not: the lyrics have the sadness and melancholy of a massive proper ballad but the production drags the song straight to the dancefloor and lends it an undeniable sense of optimism. It's proper crying at the discotheque, tears in the toilets (© N Tennant) stuff.
On an album full of dancing robots and typically obtuse Xenomania production it's a welcome shot of romance and warmth for 'Out Of Control'; it's a song about a couple falling apart, which tends to happen in any sort of relationship at one point or another. It's just a very elegant, human song, and how's this for a snapshot of how the relentless bustle of modern life drags lovers apart: "somewhere on a Monday morning, in a rush hour of another day, standing on a crowded platform, carelessly we lost our way".
One of the great things about this is that it doesn't really sound like Girls Aloud singing a Pet Shop Boys song - it's more like two of the best songwriters IN POP HISTORY collaborating with Xenomania to produce a song about human nature and love going tits up. There are some lyrical touches - phrases like "you may be disinclined" and "the issue's never mentioned with all the best intentions" are Proper Tennant - but without going too X-Factor about the whole thing there are some brilliant vocal touches (like the cute pronunciation of the first word, "sometimes" )which mean that the girls Really Make The Song Their Own.
"Wide awake and dreaming... Of yesterday." Amazing.Popjustice

x After the weedy Promise, I'm relieved to report Girls Aloud are back to their New Schlurp Technology with The Loving Kind. In a typically inspired move they've chemically fused their Xenomania bods with the Governors of Emotive Luxury Pop, Tennant & Lowe. The result is a perfecto lump-in-the-throato heartstopper in the Love Comes Quickly or Rent vein and it's easily one of the classiest things GA have done. Sparkly and swoony, it casually wees on almost everyone else makin' pop at the mo. Matt James

x If 'The Promise' was the foreplay, consider 'The Loving Kind' the full-blown bedroom action. Penned by the Pet Shop Boys and produced by longtime collaborators Xenomania, it weds hauntingly melancholy vocals - full credit to Nicola Roberts here - to a sense of dancefloor euphoria totally at odds with the teary-eyed lyrics. The result is nothing short of dazzling, meaning 'The Loving Kind' deserves a place alongside 'Biology' and 'Call The Shots' on the list of Girls Aloud's finest ever singles. David Balls

x It's the best thing they've ever done. Co-written by Pet Shop Boys with Xenomania, it's a gloriously melancholic disco stomper, with some classic Neil Tennant lines ("I know you may be disinclined to find the love you've left behind") and a production that will make you want to dance and cry. At the same time. There's a nod to Call The Shots, but this is even better. John Murphy

x What happens when you combine Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys, and Xenomania on one track? You get a brilliant piece of pop music.
"The Loving Kind", off of their upcoming Out of Control album, follows "Call The Shots" as one of the best pop songs of the year. In fact, the two songs have a lot in common, which make them amazing. Both songs are slow-grooving electropop ballads, paired with great lyrics about a broken and/or strained relationship.
What sets "The Loving Kind" apart from its sister song is the lyrics. While "Call The Shots" was a slightly confusing song to interpret lyrically, this song is very clear. The girls sing about desperately trying to revive a struggling pairing. They sing about proving their lovers wrong; they are capable of being loving and attentive, even if they don't necessarily show it. We can thank PSB for the wonderful words.
The collaboration wouldn't work without the always innovative Xenomania production team. They pair the Boys' thoughtful lyrics with a slow, energetic electropop sound. The melody sounds young, wistful and downright magical, even with the sorrowful lyrics. The sound lightly blankets the girls voice, making the song sound smooth and slick like previous GA efforts. Bramndon Lewis

x But there's more sassiness and endeavour on (...) The Loving Kind, a collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys, which takes the best elements of both outfits and combines them well. The synth background is bright, breezy and evocative of the Pet Shop Boys' '80s heyday, while the vocals are lush, melodic and reminiscent even of Kylie. indieLondon

x I heard the raves, and paid them no mind originally, since I've only met one GA single that really rocked my world ("Call the Shots"). Let's be honest, though... like a car wreck on the side of the road, I couldn't help but stop and check it out with the Pet Shop Boys and Xenomania attached to the track, and I'm glad I did. If even for 3 minutes, Girls Aloud seem to know the meaning of sophisticated pop. Pop Music Notes

LINKS:

x video on YouTube
x Wikipedia page