Boyzone: 'Brother'

Boyzone haven't had the easiest of comeback trails, have they? Even before the tragic death of Stephen Gately last October, their 2008 greatest hits set, Back Again... No Matter What, had been met with a collective "meh", mainly because it was a rehash of an earlier comp that added three lacklustre newbies as fan bait. Tickets for their reunion tour may have sold solidly to the old faithful, but will this translate into respectable sales figures for an album of new material?

The answer is that it probably will - because the group's first studio set since 1998 is about as surprising as candles on a birthday cake (as is its Mother's Day-timed release). With a writing and production team that boasts Greg Wells (Mika, Katy Perry), Stephen Lipson (Annie Lennox, Will Young) and one Leona Lewis among its number, one might have expected at least some diversity across the record. Yet, for the most part, Brother sounds like a Ronan Keating album with the odd verse from other members thrown in for good measure.

Mika-penned lead single 'Gave it all Away' is easily its most surprising moment, with the Irish crooners - Gately included - swooning over a reggae-tinged beat that just about fails to reach the heights of "pop perfection". Sadly, this is the case throughout. The guitar-driven 'Love is a Hurricane' and One Republic-esque 'Nothing Without You' fulfil the record's uptempo quota and offer its undoubted highlights. The remaining ballads merge into each other as the LP progresses, marked only by a lack of emotion curious for a set whose genesis was so shrouded in tragedy.

Ultimately, there's no doubt that Brother is a Boyzone album from beginning to end. When making the inevitable comparison with Take That - who managed to embrace a new generation of fans while keeping the old ones happy - it's difficult not to feel disappointed that this lot have been content just to pick up where they left off 12 years ago. Then again, maybe a change in direction was never an option? After all, a cynic would argue that an album conceived, recorded and marketed as a tribute LP doesn't need to offer anything other than a selection of saccharine ballads. It's just a shame that any palpable feeling here is reserved solely for the sleeve notes.