The Hush

Quite how Texas found themselves transformed from worthy but dull, blues-obsessed write-offs to fashionable multi-platinum pop merchants is one of the more remarkable career spins of recent years. Chris Evans' patronage of 'Say What You Want' on radio and TV certainly aided the progress of White On Blonde and the band did come up trumps in the songwriting department - but at heart Texas owe their current commercial status to the emergence of Sharleen Spiteri as the top photographer's dream subject.

Despite repeated statements that Texas are a band, on the sleeve of The Hush Sharleen is the only member pictured, leaving little doubt that what we're presented with here is a lone star scenario. An indisputably fine and versatile singer, she and co-writer/producer Johnny McElhone have moved even more into the mainstream here, the textures on The Hush pushing her voice centre-stage on a collection which sounds like a concerted attempt to create their very own Rumours. Of twelve tracks only two (oddball instrumental 'Zero Zero' and the Massive Attack-lite of the title track) couldn't realistically serve as singles, which is an impressive achievement by any standards, yet the problem is that too much airbrushing has blanded out the band's identity to the extent that White On Blonde sounds like The Clash by comparison.

Not that The Hush is a complete clunker by any means (the Oriental feel of 'In Our Lifetime', the ABBA-meets-Blondie disco exercise 'Summer Son', the Smokey Robinson homage of 'Day After Days' and the stoned 'Soul of Sunday Afternoon' are all fine songs) - it's just that you get the impression that since Texas went à la mode and Sharleen forsook the Celtic fringe of Pop something cold and calculating took root and isn't likely to be dislodged. Only the mournful, heartfelt 'Saint' and the closing 'The Day Before I Went Away' (ABBAesque in both title and execution) offer any real depth of feeling and if it wasn't for the fact that he's listed on the sleeve you'd wonder whether whizzkid guitarist Ally McErlaine has buggered off altogether.

Given her outstanding vocal ability it'd be nice to see Sharleen tilting at the windmills of her mind a bit more, but as it is The Hush remains a glossy, acomplished but frustratingly empty album which they'll still be lifting singles from this time next year.