THE CORRS, O2 Arena – Evening Standard, 25 Jan 2016

Unlike most bands, The Corrs didn’t endure an acrimonious breakup before their reunion for their first album in over a decade. As siblings, splitting was never really an option. In fact they took time off to make more Corrs, securing their legacy with eight children between them.

Their soft pop with trad Irish bolt-ons sold at a clip in the Nineties, but a hardly rabid fanbase ensured that solo albums from singer Andrea and violinist Sharon flopped in the interim, and the recent comeback album, White Light, just missed the UK top 10. Adele may have stolen their audience of casual music buyers.

Yet they have more hits than you may immediately recall, including the impeccably bland What Can I Do and the relatively energetic Breathless. Though attention can drift in their verses, vivid choruses remain their strong point, as on the mildly electronic new one I Do What I Like and their folky, touching song about immigration, Ellis Island.

Andrea, regularly named one of the most beautiful women in the world in her pomp, was ageless, skipping and twirling in her standard little black dress. Bravely, they allowed brother Jim to have a microphone as well as a guitar and keyboard. His website stuffed with conspiracy theories was the most entertaining thing about the band in their absence. Though statuesque Sharon’s fiddly bits sometimes seemed tacked on to remind liisteners of their nationality, a medley of traditional instrumentals allowed her to let loose properly.

On the whole, it was business as usual, the quartet looking and sounding as though they’d never been away. That was reassuring, but hardly exciting.