Brother

First album in over a decade and first without Stephen Gately

When Stephen Gately died last October, the recently reformed Irish boyband had to decide whether to quit in his honour or continue with the album he had started alongside them. They chose to carry on and it was most definitely the right decision.

Marking a move away from their traditional schmaltzy sound, Brother pulls off the same trick as Take That's Beautiful World and tweaks the successful formula to correspond with advancing years and receding hairlines, repitching Boyzone as purveyors of grown up pop. They've done so with the help of a crisp production that features many of the devices of contemporary R&B and with some well-selected collaborations - notably Mika (who penned Gave It All Away) and Gregg Alexander, who wrote the surprisingly rocking and upbeat Love Is A Hurricane (something of sequel to the song he wrote for solo Ronan, Life Is A Rollercoaster).

Gately's presence is felt throughout. His last vocal for the band opens the album, while the sentimental outpouring of One More Song features the quartet singing "it feels wrong without your voice". That track aside Brother is a positive and uplifting comeback.

Album Review by Johnny Dee