Face To Face

They haven’t gone away you know.
Despite predictions to the contrary some time back from Louis Walsh that his protégés would implode sooner rather than later, Ireland’s most successful pop act (lest you forget) would appear to be in rude health. Their seventh studio album comes after their longest ever break from the studio and follows the relative flop that was their dog’s dinner of a Rat Pack album, Allow Us To Be Frank.
Sticking to the template that has worked so well in the past (even the press release describes their approach as a “straightforward formula”) means it’s back to the soaring ballads with the odd mid-tempo dance pop-tune and the carefully calculated cover. With songwriting and production coming courtesy of long-term associate Steve Mac and the ever-reliable Swedish hit makers The Location, the sound is at once familiar and forgettable.
You’ll already have heard their version of Brendan Graham’s oft recorded feel-good anthem ‘You Raise Me Up’, a song that to these ears sounds like a cross between ‘Danny Boy’, ‘The Water Is Wide’ and ‘Something So Strong’. But it’s a definite highlight when compared to the sameness and sheer blandness of soporific ballads such as ‘That’s Where You Find Love, ‘In This Life ’and ‘Heart Without A Home’ – songs distinguishable only by their titles.
The much-vaunted duet with Diana Ross on ‘When You Tell Me That You Love Me’, while far better than their Mariah Carey collaboration, reveals no real surprises and appears to be included here as a trophy. The same could be said for the over-the top arrangement of The Eagles’ radio staple ‘Desperado’, which comes complete with massed choirs and dramatic key changes. Like their note-for-note version of ‘Uptown Girl’ it seems pointless.
Things rev up a little on ‘Change Your Mind’ – a Motown-like dancefloor romp very much in the style of Miss Ross’ former Supremes hit ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’, while ‘She’s Back’, a funk-lite workout, strongly recalls Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’.
The singing and carefully worked out harmonies are all perfect, while the production is tweaked to squeeze every ounce of instant emotion out of the performances. But anyone with a half-decent record collection will be left numb.