Album Review: The Conversation by Texas

It’s something of a surprise to find yourself with a new album by Texas in your hands. Although the band never officially split up, their fans and followers might have been forgiven for thinking that 2005’s indifferently received Red Book had finally closed the book on the group’s career, especially following the massive brain aneurysm suffered in 2009 by guitarist Ally McErlaine, and the fact that Sharleen Spiteri seemed to be busily occupying herself with such nostalgia-fest solo projects as 2008’s Melody and 2010’s The Movie Songbook. But, lo and behold, McErlaine thankfully bounced back from his collapse and so, now, have Texas, emerging from their extended hiatus with a tour in 2011 and then heading to the studio to make a new record a whopping 25 years after their Southside debut.

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Everybody else is doing it, so why can’t Texas? While they never formally disbanded, the re-emergence of the Scottish band eight years after their previous album makes perfect sense in an era where ’90s nostalgia is big business. Indeed, given their late-’90s ubiquity Texas can claim a stronger emotional pull on this than most – their blockbuster albums White On Blonde and The Hush sold three million copies between them in the UK alone. For those of a certain age, the silky smooth R&B of Say What You Want or the sun-kissed sheen of Summer Son will evoke days spent in an era where the radio was still the primary source of music and Texas strode across the medium like Goliath.

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