Picture This: Life in Colour – Athy lads move up the superstardom ladder

Just a few years after this Athy duo – now a four-piece – began uploading songs to their Facebook page, the same band are now showcasing their wares on James Corden's US talk show, have signed to the subsidiary label run by Joe Jonas (of global sensations The Jonas Brothers) and are gunning for stardom Stateside. Their third album suggests you'd be foolish to bet against that scenario, considering how this is their biggest, glossiest collection to date.

That’s not such a bad thing; the punchy title track is an upbeat number tailored for big crowd singalongs, Things Are Different incorporates an almost EDM-style breakdown and the playful chorus of Can You Feel It is surely a future radio hit.

In between those big numbers, they leave room for schmaltzy love songs wrought from Ryan Hennessy's swarthy-voiced songbook, such as Die for You and If Ever However Whenever Forever – two songs that Niall Horan would love to have in his canon.

The occasional cheesy lyric (“Baby I’m an addict, it’s tragic/And your love is the habit”) is forgivable given the clever mix of styles, tempos and musical methods on display here, from pacey pop to soppy balladry. Even the most ardent begrudger would find it difficult to deny that this is an eminently well-rounded pop album.

[ picturethismusic.com ]