Steps “What The Future Holds” Album Review
Cancelled events, political unrest, lockdowns, vaccines, Christmas being cancelled. Life in 2020 has been a bit crap really hasn’t it? With less than six weeks until the end of the year, while most of it has been a shocking write-off, thankfully, there could be hope left as British pop favourites Steps are back with their new album. We might not be able to leave our homes but, by God, with “What The Future Holds” pumping away in the background, Steps are going to make sure we can party all the way through to 2021.
Twenty-three years since they burst onto the scene, the pop stars return in 2017 for a huge reunion tour and, listening to “What The Future Holds”, it’s great to see that they’ve taken the fun element of their live show and injected it into the album. Full of pop-bangers from start to finish, “What The Future Holds” sees the pop quintet team up with some of the biggest songwriters in pop for an album that will have you busting out your best moves as soon as it explodes into life. Opening with the title track, a song provided to the group by modern pop fave Sia, the first taster of the album provides the perfect appetizer. Given their familiar-sounding dance-pop with a modern twist, the Steps sound in 2021 matches the futuristic concept of the album perfectly. Providing a great scene-setter for the rest of the album, it’s great to see that, not only have Steps retained their sound but have brought it dancing energetically into 2020 and beyond.
“Something In Your Eyes” and “Clouds” will you have you hitting the dancefloor as will the energetic “Come and Dance With Me” all three tracks that show how Steps have brought their sound up to date without losing any of that classic pop edge. Elsewhere “One Touch” is another pulsing four minutes of pop while “Father Heart” blends together gentler moments with some pulsating electro-pop. Polished and pristine, each four-minute offering is a worthy addition to the Steps repertoire and, given the group have promised the 2021 tour will be massive, it’s easy to see how these tracks are going to slip effortlessly into their live party experience.
When you get a new Steps album you know you’re in for a party and “What The Future Holds” is no different. Are they the band to save 2020? To be honest, it’s probably going to take a lot more than this album packed with modern pop gems to save this washout of a year. However, as the soundtrack to your festive parties, whether they’re with two or two hundred people, you certainly couldn’t want for a better musical accompaniment? As for what the future holds, maybe for the next few weeks, we can just forget about that and enjoy a colourful pop party Steps style?
Steps will be touring the UK in November 2021 and you can get all the details here
