Most people over the age of 25 remember Glaswegian pop-rock band Texas as a regular fixture on the 90’s music scene. Achieving two number 1 albums in the UK with White On Blonde in 1997 and The Hush in 1999, their accessible and middle-of-the-road songs featured in the collections of young and old alike.
After entering a hiatus in 2005, the band reunited in 2011 following the near death brain aneurism of guitarist Ally McErlaine and released the album The Conversation in 2013 which reached number 4 in the album charts. Signifying that they still had a lot to offer and a fanbase that still wanted more from them, newest release Jump Onboard is their ninth studio album and their first for label BMG. Can it yield any memorable hits akin to “Black Eyed Boy”, “Say What You Want” and “Summer Son” though?
Opening number “Let’s Work It Out” is the band’s first single from the album and kicks things off with a solid, mid-tempo disco beat that’s easy to listen to. “Can’t Control” follows and both songs showcase that singer Sharleen Spiteri has lost none of her vocal skill with a smooth, buttery control that is impressive in its simplicity. It’s not until the Debbie Harry derived vocals on fifth track “Tell That Girl” that Spiteri lets loose a little bit. There are a few below par tracks such as “Great Romance” which feels a bit too bright and breezy for a band where the members are pushing 50. However, on tunes such as “Won’t Let You Down” and “For Everything” Spiteri’s enticing Chrissie Hynde-esque vocals draw you in and are much preferred than trying to appeal to a younger crowd. Before you know it, it’s all over with “Round The World” the tenth and final track.
Can Texas recreate their past successes?
There’s a lot to like about Jump Onboard – Spiteri’s voice has a wonderful smooth quality to it that’s somewhat hypnotic, the production is first rate and sounds great coming out of my Cambridge CXA80 amplifier and Focal speakers, even though it’s only streamed from Spotify. All the musicianship is tight and well performed though it is also slightly unremarkable. The only real issue is that there doesn’t appear to be a stand out track that would join the ranks of the many hit singles that Texas has produced over the years. Having said that, there are plenty of good tracks to enjoy and that you wouldn’t turn off if they came on the radio, despite the album feeling a bit short at only ten songs long. For fans of Texas, this new material is still going to tick the right boxes, though it’s unlikely that it’ll be as far reaching as their heyday two decades ago.
Author: Steve, Bristol store
