If it wasn't for the fact he'd seen their name cropping up headlining over tribute bands in West of Ireland summer fairs, this writer would have sworn THE HOTHOUSE FLOWERS were no more.
Indeed, it's the best part of 20 years since Liam O'Maonlai and co were regular chart visitors, and while bursts of touring and the occasional record had ensured their profile hadn't entirely fizzled out in Europe, it transpires their new album "Into Your Heart" is their first album to attain Stateside release for a decade.
And, while your reviewer had been preparing for the worst, it turns out "Into Your Heart" is actually a decent enough album in the main. With the exception of the final track (we'll get to that) it's certainly not a case of blindfolds and firing squads, and at least for six of the opening seven tracks, the Dublin boys actually sound like they've clung onto some vague relevance in the modern day scheme of things. Quite a result, bearing in mind their crossover raggle-taggle soul thang was never this writer's thing to begin with.
Part of the credit for this must surely be lain at producer John Reynolds' door. Sinead O'Connor's ex-hubby recently showed how adept he was in the producer's chair when he helped shape young singer/ songwriter Siobhan Parr's "Repeat To Fade" album and he corrals the Flowers' patented soul/ pop sound into something expansive and vibrant during the album's first half, making the band sound like - if not world-beaters - then at least a credible modern-day soul train with memorable hooks and above-average harmonic ideas.
Trailer single "Your Love Goes On" leads us off and gives you an idea of what will follow. It's sprightly, expressive pop/soul, big and expectant with undeniably fine vocals from O'Maonlai and triumphant Gospel-style backing vocals. Really rather fine.
This shock over, the band stretch out and score a string of successes. "The End Of The Road" finds O'Maonlai back at the ivories and the band supplying a big, melancholic ballad that's anthemic without ever sliding into Elton-style mawkishness; "Tell Me"is pepped-up in a Dylan-ish kinda way and coated in mild psychedelia; "Better Man" proffers blue-eyed Stax-y soul and Liam's remarkable falsetto vocals and - arguably best of all - there's "Hallelujah" which has both depth and atmosphere and benefits wondrously from both Facthna O'Braonain's baritone guitar and the femmy backing vocals.
More in this vein and we'd be sitting on maybe the biggest surprise of the last 12 months, but then the band and the plot begin to go their separate ways and the record suffers accordingly.
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"Peace Tonight" is the first warning shot across the bows. An attempt to emulate the success of "Better Man" it's desperately overwrought and plodding and ultimately disastrous. Initially you think it's a temporary aberration as its' followed by "Santa Monica" - another of those patented soulful cruises with a seductive, radio-friendly clause written in - but sadly after that the rot sets in.
The sparse piano ballad "Feel Like Living" is the start. Although it's a vocal tour de force, it's scarily close to Bryan Adams territory and anything but chased away by "Baby I Got You"s cliched platitudes and lack of energy. Once again they briefly rally with "Alright", which is memorably catchy and could be a single, but this time the reserves are exhausted, it seems as the Flowers proceed to wilt ignominiously over the final three tracks.
Both "Magic Bracelets" and "Out Of Nowhere" are bad enough. The former is unfortunate, sub-Van Morrison twaddle, while the overwrought sub-white funk cack of the latter is at best undistinguished. Yet for all the faults of these tracks, the album would still have retained reserves of credibility had they not tagged on the awful "Si Do Mhamo I" at the end. Listen lads: we're aware you're Irish. That's grand. Be proud of it. But why do you feel it's compulsory to subject us to this shocking display of forced Oirishness with more tin whistles and bodhrans than you can shake a Leprechaun convention at? Regardless of the sentiments, this is indescribably naff and ruins the atmosphere of what has essentially been a good (if ueneven) album.
It's a great pity, because "Into Your Heart" was shaping up nicely for a while there, and instead ends up going of at half cock with the band lacking the conviction and direction to follow through. It taints the overall picture, but - if listened to with judicious use of programming - "Into Your Heart" remains the sound of a band back from the dead and even harbouring a possible commercial future of sorts. Whatever next.
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