Take That talk about themselves in This Life: the review of the new album

In This Life the Take That they look to the past. It is a reflective record, a sort of pop account set to music with guitars and piano, and enriched by the classic falsettos that have made them one of the best-selling British bands in history. Gary Barlow, Mark Owen And Howard Donald – the three «boys» who remained in the band after the release of Robbie Williams (the second) and of Jason Orange – they are now fifty years old. Their gaze towards the years gone by has a different light. Take That, having reached their ninth album, the first with this three-piece lineup, are now mature artists and men. And as such they feel nostalgia. This Life, albeit not in a very original way, describes their adventures. The twists and turns of their lives. And even if the glitter sparkles less than it used to, it remains the same comfort to hear something known and familiar.

A piano intro opens the album in Keep Your Head Upoffering an atmosphere melancholic, perhaps too little explored in the rest of the work. The text slowly unfolds on an engaging harmonic carpet. With Windows the guitar replaces the piano as the musical protagonist, while maintaining a nostalgic edge, both in the acoustic rhythm and in the solo electric. Barlow’s voice is at the center of the scene, accompanied by the choirs. The window through which the light enters is the metaphor of a turning point, which came after a dark period: «Ready now to start this climb». A turning point that comes with the title track, This Life. Life is sung with cheerful melodies, between sugary arrangements and rosy harmonies, but it hides many difficulty: «This life will take everything that you’ve got. In this life there’s no second chances.”

Brand New Sun it’s spring love song of the album. Preceded by a captivating bridge, the chorus is one of the hooks of the album, thanks to the repeated «Hey», with a sure radio flavor. An electronic introduction presents mannerisms Days I Hate Myself. The verse, between new wave and reggae, clearly recalls his compatriots Police. With The Champion, from Sting you fly across the ocean, visiting the style of Lou Reed Of Walk on the Wild Side. Accustomed to bewitching, a tormented Latin lover tries to gently convey his vulnerability. But his false modesty isn’t very convincing: «I’m a patched up champion of the world». More interesting and exciting We Got All Day which invites us to slow down to respond to the frenzy and noise of the world.

The setlist of the album sounds a little unbalanced. After a good start – three of the first four tracks were chosen as singles – the second half of the work is less focused. To the not very successful 80s rock experiment of Mind Full of Madnessare added Time and Time Again And One More Wordbefore finding the thread of the conversation again with Where We Are. The album ends with the right song. The trio sings «Just look at where we are. The years behind us, we’ve come so far», and achieves the goal of This Life: looking back through the eyes of maturity glorious story which leaves a legacy to Take That and their fans more than 45 million records sold all over the world.

Playlists

Appino – The end of a boy

The Vaccines – Lunar Eclipse

Dua Lipa – Houdini