Anyone saddened by the recent demise of Chipz and Banaroo could do worse than investigate Friends 4 Ever, the fourth album from German manufactured quartet BeFour.

The squeaky-clean and permanently smiley lineup of Manou, Alina B, Dan M, and Angel may have found fame through their 2007 Super RTL docu-soap Das Star-Tagebuch, but their relentlessly upbeat and shiny Hi-NRG sound, as displayed on the follow-up to We Stand United, shows that the band is quite happy to forget that the last ten years of pop music have existed at all.

Produced by Christian Geller (Sandra) and Adam Bernau, its 12 tracks have both feet planted firmly in the decade of Day-glo costumes, cheesy dance routines, and the unpretentious, glittery teen pop which produced the likes of Steps, Scooch, and the A-Teens.

While it's a refreshing change to hear a contemporary pop album without any ubiquitous electro-pop/synth-led R&B numbers or Ryan Tedder ballads, Friends 4 Ever is so sugary sweet that it should come with a government health warning.

From the camp schlager of the Alcazar-inspired "Disco," to the faithful cover version of Teach In's 1975 Eurovision Song Contest winner "Ding-A-Dong," to the Cascada-influenced dance-pop of "One Step to Infinity," the majority of the album feels like it's been designed purely to soundtrack a particularly hyperactive children's slumber party.

There are brief flashes of reggae-pop on "All Night Long," Scooter-ish techno on "Hear the Countdown Call," and Italo-house on "Happy People," but the foursome's constantly cheerful holiday camp-style vocals would reduce even the most experimental and challenging of songs to basic nursery rhyme singalongs.

A perfunctory rendition of 2 Unlimited's '90s techno classic "No Limit" is about as edgy as they get, while the two ballads, the early Britney Spears-esque "All I Ever Wanted" and the dream pop of "All Around the Planet" certainly won't be giving Leona Lewis any sleepless nights.

However, it's unfair to compare them with their more sophisticated contemporaries, as BeFour are undoubtedly a pre-teen-aimed act in the same vein as the Tweenies and the Wiggles rather than the likes of fellow televised groups Monrose and Some & Any.

If you fall into their target audience, Friends 4 Ever will probably (briefly) be your favorite album, but everyone else would be advised to steer well clear.