Comebacks are a tricky business. Expectations are either sky high or muted, with both sides of the equation carrying a particular set of challenges. The road to All Saints’ ‘Red Flag’, though, has been one of almost serene progress.
One Strike, its lead single and a song bearing plenty of weight on its shoulders as the quartet’s first statement since the underwhelming ‘Studio 1’ a decade ago, can take much of the credit for smoothing their path.
Recalling the easy confidence and William Orbit shimmer of Pure Shores, it’s a great pop song effortlessly executed. Its sentiment, a thinly-veiled discussion of Nicole Appleton’s divorce from Liam Gallagher, simmers close to the surface.
Removed from the squabbles of their initial success, and subsequent implosion, this is a record propped up by settled artistic decisions and an understanding of where All Saints fit in the current pop landscape.
One Woman Man, for example, is a career high that could also have settled in and comfortably held its own on Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’. Built around strident chorus strings and a rousing melodic counterpoint, it’s the headline act in a strong opening salvo.
Alongside One Strike, there is a vein of relationship-focused realism that runs through it and the rolling Make U Love Me and Summer Rain. Shaznay Lewis, who again assumed the mantle of chief songwriter, is more than happy to leave a few rough edges out in the open.
‘Red Flag’ begins to lose steam as it progresses, though. There are golden moments in its latter stages, notably the icy Fear and the sweeping, horn-led closer, Pieces, but this is a second half reliant on ballads and home to the record’s one glaring misstep, Ratchet Behaviour. The slow numbers, the best of which is perhaps the MelBlatt-penned Who Hurt Who, are all perfectly functional but lack the effervescent bite of tracks one to five.
With that considered, ‘Red Flag’ still stands as a welcome return. All Saints always stood out in the crowd and continue to do so here, with the rapturous reception that greeted their recent live return suggesting that this homecoming might be best served by an air of permanence.
All Saints Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu October 06 2016 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 Academy Newcastle
Fri October 07 2016 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Sat October 08 2016 - MANCHESTER Academy
Mon October 10 2016 - BOURNEMOUTH O2 Academy Bournemouth
Tue October 11 2016 - LIVERPOOL O2 Academy Liverpool
Thu October 13 2016 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
Fri October 14 2016 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Sat October 15 2016 - SHEFFIELD O2 Academy Sheffield
Mon October 17 2016 - SOUTHEND Cliffs Pavilion
Tue October 18 2016 - NORWICH UEA
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