After a year in which all the focus had been on his financial woes, Shane Filan cut an optimistic figure at a listening party in Dublin's Odessa Club.

With a quick introduction from the Sligo man ("I'll leave the room, so if you don't like it don't worry!" he laughed), four songs from his forthcoming solo album – including new single 'Everything To Me' – were played.

Afterwards, Filan admitted that he wanted to move on from the Westlife sound: "I think it has to be different to some degree... Everyone would have expected it to be a solo version of Westlife."

Instead, the songs are more up-tempo: "Probably because Westlife did so many ballads!"

For the first time, Filan has played a significant part in the writing process. Now signed to Capitol, he says he hadn't expected them to want him to write and that "the whole creative side of it was a bit of a surprise... Lyrically, I found it very easy."

The album will deal with his recent hardships – he was declared bankrupt in Britain last July – but with a positive, hopeful message.

Written during that dark period when he felt "unsure" and "embarrassed" publicly, Filan says: "Songwriting was my therapy... Relaxing. Every day I got to talk about my life to people I don't know."

At this point, he's cautious when talking about what solo success would entail. "I don't know where I'm going," he concedes. "You only get one chance, the first impression must be good."

He noted that he'd be thrilled with solo shows at venues such as The Olympia Theatre and, after talking about his admiration for an in-Dublin Michael Buble, quipped: "I seriously doubt [my dates] will be 10 nights at the O2!"

The singer also paid tribute to the support he received from his wife Gillian, as well as his manager Louis Walsh. Oh, and he does a mean Louis impersonation...

As for the songs? 'Everytime' is an acoustic strummer that ties a Danny O'Donoghue-esque vocal to some big backing Arcade Fire "woahs". Somehow the whole thing ends up sounding like Train, which might be because Martin Terefe, the producer behind 'Hey, Soul Sister' has been working with him.

'All You Need To Know' is softer, with a synth undercurrent and lyrics like "sometimes you've got to go back to the start."

It's possible we've heard a similar melody on 'About You' sang by Westlife before; this time it's transposed to the keys on a song that's stacked with choruses. The playback wrapped up with single 'Everything To Me', which is such a bouncy, summer number that Filan had to point out that it's a "fluke" that it's arriving on radio in the midst of a heatwave.

'Everything To Me' gets its release on August 23.