With its strings, slowies and lush M.O.R production, the music sometimes achieves the emotional impact it aims for

It's a true delight that Dexys Midnight Runners are back to reclaim their place in the pop music firmament and LOVE is nothing less than a late career highlight that pales not at all when held up to their early work

It’s easy to be charmed by LOVE, which transcends place and generation to immerse us once again in the Dexys Midnight Runners world: a place shaped by the many forms of love a life can encounter, with Rowland as riveting a protagonist as ever

Lyrically, it’s a very personal record – but musically it’s very much a band record

With almost a countless number of releases since the opening salvo on Searching Four Young Soul Rebels (1980) it seems that Rowland has gone full circle, and in quite a great manner at that. Hopefully, this is not the last one

If this is the end, it's a poignant and graceful farewell. Print edition only

Producer David Holmes gives LOVE a warm, organic richness. If it were to be Dexys' final album, LOVE feels like a fitting end to the journey that started with Searching For The Young Soul Rebels. Print edition only

NEW LOVE is the first album credited to Dexys Midnight Runners since 1985, an apposite gesture since the themes and undertones link back to Don’t Stand Me Down

The word ‘love’ is sung over 60 times on the album; old love, lost love, parental love, familial love, love for country and concern for future. Like the greatest of Dexys works, its flaws contribute to the entire picture