Westlife: stability as the key to success

Although the Irish band Westlife has recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of their music career, they already have nine albums of their own. Such productive rapidity is the result of extremely conservative approach to making music preached by the participants of the group who have never strived to change their sound radically. That is why their creative process does not take them a lot of time, and neither does the recording process that was adjusted long time ago. Critics may criticize the band for the reluctance to change anything as bitterly as they want, yet they have nothing to say against the fact that the musicians are highly popular, especially in the UK. There is no secret that the middle-tempo compositions about love with memorable choruses have always been favorites among many music lovers. If you add in the high level of execution and the nicely designed image of the singers, you should not be surprised by the interest Westlife are drawing from the audience, particularly from young female listeners. Al these aspects imply that Westlife’s ninth album, Where We Are, will not be left unnoticed.

Where We Are is another portion of hits and master proficient music

Where We Are starts with What About Now, the first single to promote the album. After you hear the touching piano introduction followed by the soft singing, you will understand the correctness of the single selection. The second track is How To Break A Heart. It would be another simply, if not banal, pop-number, but for the catchiest chorus to take everybody’s breath away. Effective vocal parts, particularly in choruses, have always been Westlife’s deadly weapon, and their new album proves it once again. For instance, Reach Out is done in the vein of the band’s best tracks and reveals a theme that may infect your mind and soul for quite a while. It is possible to say that the main hits of this long player are Where We Are, and Talk Me Down. The former has amazing melodies, while the latter strikes with the deepest sorrow of the vocals. You may think in the beginning that a bit more than fifty minutes would be enough, but by the end of the listening it becomes clear how fast this time flies. The album’s closing track is the optimistic I’ll See You Again, probably, a hint that it is far from the last effort by Westlife

Searching for the new listeners, pleasing the old fans

With all the resemblance between Where We Are and the former albums, this record has a special mission to accomplish. Its makers hope that their new work will capture the American public. It is known that Westlife have so far been famous only in Europe, while in the States they did lack following. The local music lovers have had a very vague idea of this band. This situation encouraged the Irish to prepare Where We Are in cooperation with those song-writers who had already contributed to the records popular in the US. One of them is Ryan Tedder who worked together with the celebrated Leona Lewis. He penned the Shadows ballad, one of the most emotional tracks on Where We Are. Only time can tell if Westlife’s new record will manage to widen the band’s public in the remote lands of North America, yet it definitely will please Westlife’s old supporters. This is exactly the case when a listener knows precisely what he or she wants to and certainly will hear on the new disc.

Alex Bartholomew
14.12.2009