It's fair to say that The Corrs are responsible for some of the most insipid pop music of the last decade, somehow combining winsome lyrics with melodies that seem to have been produced in some kind of factory and devised to entwine themselves within your brain. Just saying the word 'breathless' inspires memories of Andrea Corr's vocals with that infuriating chorus. So, to have them back again is hardly exciting news, but what is Home like?
Surprisingly, it's not quite as bad as most of their output, perhaps because it embraces their Celtic roots a little more whole-heartedly than before.
Coming only a year after their last album Borrowed Heaven, the siblings have apparently been given more free reign on Home, and have chosen a collection of songs that are 'close to their hearts', mostly Irish folk tunes.
Opener My Lagan Love and Spancill Hill both have all the hallmarks of great Irish songs, with gentle instrumentation and sentimental lyrics, and The Corrs perform them surprisingly well, particularly drummer Caroline on the traditional percussion instrument, the bodhran.
Andrea's vocals are also surprisingly well suited to these songs, actually more so than pop tunes like Breathless and So Young, where she can often sound a bit flat. Here she sounds almost like Cara Dillon, particularly on traditional folk song Black Is The Colour, which Dillon performed on her self-titled debut album.
It isn't all Irish folk songs though, with Heart Like A Wheel by Canadian sisters Kate and Anna McGarrigle appearing, as well as Phil Lynott's Old Town, which had previously been done on The Corrs' unplugged album. It's certainly the most poppy tune on the album, particularly with the horn section, and is surprisingly good.
Mind you, that is something that can be said for most of Home, particularly Buachaill On Eirne and Brid Og Ni Mhaille,which see Andrea singing in Gaelic. It may not be the most authentic Irish folk album out there, and purists will certainyl scoff, but it's nice to see that these siblings can actually make good music when they want to.
