The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Since their
first appearance in 1998, Irish pop band Westlife have had a very successful
career in the pop industry. They made their name as more than another five-person
boy band with chart topping hits that were mostly modernised covers of pop and
jazz icons.

Following their
album-a-year tradition, Gravity is the latest album by the Irish group, which
is now down to four members. Although it begs to differ, the tenth album
features their formula of familiar upbeat pop tunes with a hint of rock that doesn’t
come out so clear.

The twelve-track
album contains only two covers: ‘Chances’ by Athlete and ‘The
Reason’ by Hoobastank, which is exactly identically in arrangement to the
original yet sounds flat and too high-pitched. On a more positive note, the
pre-released single ‘Safe’ really stands out as probably the best song on the
album, featuring deep lyrics and a catchy melody.

‘Beautiful
Tonight’ takes it away with a more festive mood and easygoing dance beats,
while ‘Too Hard To Say Goodbye’ delves into the gloomier side of suffering a
loss.  

Many of the
songs in the album follow the sing-along, acoustic melody pattern. ‘I Will
Reach You’ is appealing and crowed-pleasing, but the clichéd lyrics can’t be
ignored.

Most of the
songs in Gravity will appeal to Westlife fans. Their vocals are still
neat and capturing, and they present their new pop ballad album in exactly the same
formula that they’ve been following for years; they have what is needed to make
it as a pop band, and it obviously seems to be working for them.  

However,
their songs are predictable, with standardised tempo speeds and upbeat versions
of pop originals with the same piano intro and orchestral backgrounds. This
formula has kept them successful for eleven years; but Gravity could very well
be their 100th album and still feel the same.