DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS - Love

It's common to describe an album as autobiographical. In the case of the new work by Dexys Midnight Runners (note the recent return to the full original name, after years of being shortened to Dexys), this isn't just an interpretive shortcut, but a necessary starting point for describing the genesis of “Love”, an album Kevin Rowland has described as the final chapter of the Irish band's story.
Rowland's 2025 autobiography, “Bless Me Father”, was met with very positive reviews in England, despite his original intentions being quite different. The songs on “Love” likewise grapple with the musician's difficult relationship with his father, reinforcing the album's narrative spirit.
After all, the Dexys' comeback has been marked out by equally autobiographical works. “One Day I'm Going To Soar” chronicled Rowland's rebirth after years of drug addiction, “The Feminine Divine” explored his complicated relationship with sexuality, and now it's “Love”'s turn to focus on his most intimate feelings.

Love and death run through an elegant, passionate narrative where memory and hope intertwine. Though it forgoes the bite of the band's early years, the album still manages to strike the listener's deepest chords. Producer David Holmes has wisely dropped the electro-pop textures of the previous record. In their place comes a more organic string section, evoking the golden age of the Philly sound and northern soul on “It's Over Now”, as well as the grandeur of disco and the Love Unlimited Orchestra on “You've Got The Love”.
The real surprise, though, is the dive into jazz territory with a gorgeous cover of Tim Buckley's “Strange Feelin'”, tackled by Rowland with the utmost respect and arranged like a soul-jazz jam session.

“Love” is nonetheless an album not entirely free of uneven songwriting. The two parts of “My Life In England” work better as lyrical storytelling than as pieces of music: a confessional tone emerges here, propped up by crooner-like cadences that carry the fierce invective against critics on the seductive “Old Love” - small blemishes that remain in service of a project baring the complex, fragile figure of its author.
Indeed, one of Kevin Rowland's most admirable qualities has always been his emotional resilience in the face of the setbacks encountered across a long career. One need only recall the fierce controversy sparked by the cover of his solo album “My Beauty”. That very unshakeable stubbornness of expression is the driving force behind “Love”. It comes through clearly in the simple, touching melody of “Once A Man, Twice A Child”, sung in a voice still powerful yet marked by time, and in the melancholic, evocative soul ballad “I Want To Be Holding You Next Christmas”.

Although billed as the Dexys' final act, “Love” leaves plenty of doors open for the future. What's certain is that the album represents an unexpected late-career triumph for a musician who has repeatedly confounded audiences and critics alike with controversial works, many of which have since been vindicated by time. Kevin Rowland embodies that mix of genius and recklessness that keeps rock music from slipping into boredom and predictability: God bless him.

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11/09/2026