The Circus

In 2006, <i>Beautiful World</i>, Take That’s comeback album, banished the word “boy band” from their profile, recasting them as purveyors of emotive, superbly melodic pop-rock that sat closer to Coldplay than “Could It Be Magic”. <i>The Circus</i> reinforces that transformation with “Greatest Day” and “The Garden” restating Gary Barlow’s gift for an epic chorus. Mark Owen proves valuable as a songwriter too, with his Beatles-influenced “Hello” and “Up All Night” injecting welcome breeziness into the proceedings.