Say what you like about The Corrs, there was never any denying their talent – or the voice of raven-haired youngest sister Andrea, fronting the familial quartet with ferocity and grace. It’s why it’s so disappointing that White Light – the band’s first album in a decade – begins with egregious autotune and woeful EDM-by-numbers.
As far back as “Runaway” (released in September 1995) the band always tried to pair the instruments and flourishes of traditional Irish folk music with whatever was happening in the charts – but given the extent to which contemporary pop is itself looking backwards to the dance floors of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the criss-crossing musical time travel here is exhausting to follow. The result is an album which contains some of The Corrs’ most nostalgic tracks to date – “Ellis Island”, “Harmony” and “Gerry’s Reel”, a skittish instrumental dedicated to the siblings’ late father – as well as at least one disco chorus and an intro ripped from Katy Perry’s “Firework”.
“I Do What I Like” sounds like the bad karaoke version of an empowerment anthem, all awkward rhymes about paradise and beachy sound effects; while lead single “Bring on the Night” is custom-made for the Radio 2 drivetime playlist. Title track “White Light” – apparently a tribute to Amy Winehouse – is almost saved from its high school lyrics by an epic chorus and some glorious harmonies, while Sharon’s strings and a celestial vocal performance lift “Kiss of Life” just above the middle of the road. The stripped-back, piano-led “Ellis Island” – a gentle potted history of 19th century Irish emigration that you can’t help but hear as political – is a chills-down-the-spine moment though, and perhaps a hint that next year’s reunion tour won’t just be a nostalgia trip.
Overleaf: hear new single "Bring on the Night"