It feels like only yesterday that we were watching lovely Will Young singing Evergreen and crushing the dreams of poor stuttering Gareth Gates. But it wasn’t, it was 10 years ago! We know, time flies, doesn’t it? Well, anyway, 10 years and five albums later, and Will Young isn’t going anywhere, as his new album Echoes proves.

If you listened to lead single Jealousy when we put it up last week, you sort of already know what to expect; a smooth, slow album full of gentle synths complementing Will’s lovely vocal while he sings about love and heartbreak. Jealousy is a great lead single; a slow build up of muffled bass that brings to mind Give It Away by mid-2000s dancesters Deepest Blue, in a really really good way.

On Lie Next To Me, Will sings about bumping into an ex he still loves, and manages to be really heartfelt and touching without a hint of saccharine, and could easily be the best track on the album, seeing Will’s vocal range from rich and deep to reed-thin and fragile. Sad Will is replaced by Horny Will on I Just Want a Lover, where he yelps “not being sentimental, I want you to satisfy me” against a persuasive beat that, sped up, would be very danceable indeed.

Hearts of Fire and Losing Myself continue the dancier feel, bearing the unmistakeable handprint of collaborators Groove Armada. At the other end of the scale, bereavement ballad Outsider is very Adele’s Hometown Glory, right down to the delivery and tone of the vocal, and it’s really sweet if not derivative. 

Will Young has made another great album for people who like Will Young. It’s a different take on his usual sound, and is certainly pleasing to listen to. Sure, there’s a handful of duff tracks; don’t bother with Come On and Silent Valentine, because they’re a little bit dull, and could have been jettisoned to move Good Things and Happy Now up the tracklisting.

Working with Richard X and Groove Armada is a smart move for any pop star, and Will Young has worked it to its full advantage, co-writing all but one of this album’s 13 tracks, and working closely with production to produce a sound that fits him very well. Will explained that this album taught him how “to allow space into music” and that space is exactly what makes this album work; Will has walked away from soaring strings and armies of backing singers, to create a cool album that showcases his lovely voice and his love for a good synth.

Here's the video for jealousy, the first release from the album: