Lopez Blogs

JLS may have won the battle of the boyband this week in the singles charts, but don't count Westlife out of the race just yet. They still have a huge fanbase, can still sell out huge arenas and their new album has some real gems on there. Call me in 9 years and see if JLS are at that point... Here's an overview and my choice of singles for both...

Westlife ~ Gravity:


It doesn't seem a year since I reviewed the last Westlife album. I still remain disappointed that they only released one single from it (where were the big promotions for great tracks like Sound of a Broken Heart, Talk Me Down and I'll See You Again). They pulled it back around with a rather brilliant O2 concert this year and their X-Factor performance of Safe proved that they are an accomplished group who've remained hugely successful in spite of huge amounts of negativity they often (unfairly) receive. Bringing in John Shanks (Take That) to oversee the album has given it a more cohesive sheen and he's pulled out some lovely vocal performances from the lesser heard Kian and Nicky as well as proving the boys can write an emotional track or two themselves. There are only a couple of cover versions - an Athlete track Give it a chance, you may well be pleasantly surprised - here are some of the tracks I think should be singles...

• Safe ~ The lead off single showcases what Westlife do best- huge soaring ballads with memorable chorus, tight harmonies and lush production. Their 25th consecutive top ten hit. What an incredible run of success...
• Beautiful Tonight ~ I've switched what I originally wanted to be second single to third because I think after Safe "only" made number ten here, they need to come back with something uptempo and glorious to remind everyone of the different side to them. It's got a huge, uplifting chorus, a great vibe to it and some really addictive "whoa whoa" backing ad-libs during the chorus. Just what the world will need around February to shake off those winter blues (and it's tres romantic too)...
• I Will Reach You ~ Absolutely gorgeous song that improves on the Steve Anderson-Mark Feehily partnership that gave us the exquisite Talk Me Down. It's saturated in delicious strings and - like most songs on Gravity - has a delightfully crowd pleasing chorus. The piano riff running through is a melodic joy and Mark's vocals continue to one of the groups strengths. It's again a more uptempo tune and incredibly radio friendly; would even fit in well with the Tedder type tracks on radio. I am loving the inspirational tracks on this album. Celebrate love!
• Before It's Too Late ~ More Steve Anderson-Mark Feehily magic with this piano heavy ballad that builds up over a gently ingratiating wall of strings. The song crescendos into something transcends genres and trends with a timeless feel to it that will make this heavenly tune one for the ages. The fragile, emotive vocal at the beginning is incredibly effective and lyrically it's a plea to make a relationship work. Once again, it's the power of the chorus that makes this extra special, but the structure of the song before and after the chorus demonstrates a solid knowledge of songwriting craft - everything weaves together like a musical alchemy. Would make an amazing single and can't wait to see an acoustic live performance of this one in particular...

JLS ~ Outta This World:


JLS have been one of the biggest runner up success stories of The X Factor - possibly the biggest since first year runners up, G4. They've hit number one this year with tracks that show the polar opposites of styles on this album - the vocodor heavy dance track, The Club is Alive and smoochy classic ballad, Love You More (with smoothest middle 8 i've heard for ages). Most the tracks tread more of a middle ground between these two styles - think a more modern Everybody In Love or a reswizzled One Shot. It's a bit samey at times over 14 tracks (and what is it with sharing song names with the Saturdays - first One Shot, now the name dropping O-Town-esque Work!), but there are enough highlights to be clogging up the singles chart for most of 2011...

• The Club Is Alive ~ I loved the idea of this, but the execution left me wanting a bit. Much like Miley's Can't Be Tamed, it grew on me over time and now I feel oddly nostalgic whenever I hear it. How that has happened with a 4 month old track is beyond me. I still just wish it had a slightly different chorus...
• Love You More ~ Another song that gets better with each listen. You can't get more cookie cutter ballad than this but the boys manage to give it a bit of personality and it's certainly a charming effort. And as i've said, that middle 8 counting through the days is pure pop heaven. Their best ballad since Close To You - the should've been Christmas single from their debut album...
• Eyes Wide Shut ~ It's One Shot part two and definitely has a Calvin Harris feel to it. In terms of general boy band output, it's a bit more exciting than the norm. Decent beat, funky chorus and will no doubt have a kicking dance routine and some amazing remixes. Romance goes rave and I'm quite liking it. As it happens :)
• Superhero ~ It's edging back to the more vocoder sound of Club Is Alive territory. It has a bit of a chumbawamba chant along part in the verses and a chorus that reminds me of an updated No More by A1. I do actually quite like the vocoder effects in this tune as they do go with the theme of the song. I'd also like a nice lyrcra costume video too please. That would be highly entertaining. Marvin could be Action Man!!
• Other Side Of The World ~ Other than their current single, JLS have veered away from ballads and that is a bit of a shame. As I previously said, Close To You could have been a lovely single and this track is almost a follow up to that type of tune. It's got an enticing shuffling beat, some nice hand claps and an earnest vocal from the boys with a nice flowing guitar running throughout. The stripped back chorus is a bit unassuming at first, but repeated listens are definitely rewarding and like Love You More the middle 8 seals the quality of the song. Acoustic version please...

back on Friday with 10 new festive songs from 10 new festive albums, and one non-festive treat to balance it all out :)