It’s crowded at the top. But it’s going to stay that way. U2, Coldplay and Take That are now stadium-filling pop-rock elder statesmen, with the Script and Snow Patrol also playing ambitious songs in the sort of halls best-suited to having ambitious songs belted out to the cheap seats. ‘Coming Up For Air’, Kodaline’s second album, is precision made to ensure that they make that leap sooner rather than later.
This is expansive, arena-ready songwriting that could yet result in a few thousand burned cuticles as the result of repeated lighter waving. The main issue is that it doesn’t deviate from that path.
Each aspect of the record is geared towards achieving that goal, at the expense of nuance and any real engagement with Steve Garrigan’s lyrics, which, to be absolutely honest, barely extend beyond a series of romantic clichés.
“You make my heart feel like it’s summer when the rain is pouring down. You make my whole world feel so right when it’s wrong,” runs the saccharine chorus of The One.
Autopilot finds the frontman on the verge of a big cry but, with Human Again, they find just a few minutes to have some fun. That this song - something of a cross between Huey Lewis and U2 - is the best here by the width of the O2’s roof, is telling.
Jacknife Lee, a former collaborator of Snow Patrol, U2 and a man with a bulletproof reputation for making slicker-than-slick records, has joined Jim Eliot and the returning 'A Perfect World' producer Steve Harris behind the controls for this one and predictably delivers a pop-rock sheen that you could check your reflection in. Whether Kodaline’s personality has been permanently buffed out along with any semblance of grit remains to be seen.
Kodaline Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sun February 15 2015 - GLASGOW Barrowland
Mon February 16 2015 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Tue February 17 2015 - LONDON Roundhouse
Mon March 09 2015 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Tue March 10 2015 - SOUTHAMPTON O2 Guildhall Southampton
Wed March 11 2015 - NORWICH Norwich Nick Rayns LCR UEA
Thu March 12 2015 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Sat March 14 2015 - BIRMINGHAM Institute
Sun March 15 2015 - LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds
Mon March 16 2015 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 Academy Newcastle
Thu June 25 2015 - CORK Live at the Marquee
Fri June 26 2015 - DUBLIN Royal Hospital Kilmainham
Click here to compare & buy Kodaline Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
