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Boyzone - 'Better'

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Fraser McAlpine | 09:40 UK time, Thursday, 4 December 2008

BoyzoneBlimey, no need to trouble the Trades Descriptions people with this lot (apart from the slightly unsettling boyband name), is there? They're Boyzone (tick!) and they are better (tick!), to quite a startling degree, and it's not just nostalgia talking.

I don't know if it's the lack of superdense pop lacquer on their comeback material, or that 'Love You Anyway' won them a heap of brand new friends, but suddenly the idea of a Boyzone ballad doesn't immediately cause nervous palpitations.

OMG, is this what maturity feels like?

It's certainly what maturity SOUNDS like. Rather than pledging to pull the very stars out of the sky, and shouting from the epicentre of love's first flush, this tender little tune comes from an older, wiser place. A place where you can't make those brash claims any more, and to admit to someone that they make your life a better place is as big as it gets, because it's simple, and true.

No point in hiding behind extravagent metaphors when there's hugging and blubbing to be getting on with, eh?

Naturally, if you're young, and single, and snotty, this kind of maudlin sentimentality is going to fly like a badger from a clock tower. But then, there are other artists around who can cover your special interests. Might I suggest Nine Inch Nails? They're always good for a shouty moment.

Meanwhile, the terrifying thought that the Steps reunion might not be utterly awful is lingering in my mind. Time for a long walk in the rain, I think...

Four starsDownload: Out now
CD Released: December 8th

(Fraser McAlpine)

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