i didn't know annie had released a 2nd album! I liked the first one because it represented all that I love about scandinavian music, cold, ethmereal, quirky, intensely melodic (see also kings of convenience, the knife, peter, bjorn & john)
I feel Girls Aloud on the other hand make (or rather, have made for them) lowest common denominator singles designed to appeal to 10 year olds, which is why I avoid all that stuff. I guess from the beginning they had the media exposure to shift mega-units whereas Annie didn't, which is why she's never really going to make it big (unless an advert or film comes calling?)