Dexys Midnight Runners 9/4/26

Dexys Midnight Runners - LOVE (Album).

This is Dexys Midnight Runners' seventh studio album, and it's their first release under that full original name since 1985's Don't Stand Me Down. Kevin Rowland has kept the band going under the shortened name Dexys since 2003, but he's decided to revert to what might genuinely be the group's final album. It's ten songs, produced by David Holmes, and it's built almost entirely around Rowland looking back on his own life, his childhood as the son of Irish immigrants, his family, his romances, and his regrets, all loosely tied together under the idea that they're all just different forms of love.

It opens with "My Life In England Pt.1," a vivid, reworked version of a song he first put out back in 2003. It's about growing up as a second-generation Irish kid in England, and it works as a strong, personal opener since it's essentially him setting the stage for his own life story before the rest of the album unpacks it.

"You've Got The Love" was the second single released ahead of the album, and it keeps that warm, soul-leaning sound going that the band has always been known for.

"Once A Man, Twice a Child" is one of the most emotionally heavy songs on the record, a genuinely careful and specific portrait of spending time with a dying parent. Rowland wrote the demo not long after the band's Glastonbury appearance in 2024, and it's easy to hear why the album's producer has said he was immediately drawn to it.

"You're Alright" takes the form of a letter to his grandchildren, which is a different kind of vulnerability than anything Rowland's really put on record before. It fits into the broader theme of aging and legacy that runs through much of the album.

"I Want To Be Holding You Next Christmas" captures the wistful, hopeful feeling of a relationship right at its beginning, giving the album a softer, more romantic moment among the heavier family-focused songs.

"I'll Always Love You" leans into a deep, symphonic soul sound, one of the more lushly arranged songs on the record, letting the strings do a lot of the emotional heavy lifting.

"Strange Feelin'" is the one cover on the album, written by Tim Buckley, and it's also one of the strangest-sounding tracks here, with a section that's been described as sounding almost like a music box trying to replicate a jazz band. It stands out as one of the more sonically adventurous moments on an otherwise fairly grounded record.

"It's Over Now" continues the album's focus on looking back and processing what's already happened, fitting into the record's overall theme of reckoning with the past.

"Old Love" deals directly with how difficult relationships can become later in life, adding another layer to the album's exploration of love beyond just the early, easy stages of it.

The album closes with "My Life In England Pt.2," which finishes the story started on the opener. Rowland has said it's connected to his relationship with his brother, including writing him a letter of amends after getting into recovery from cocaine addiction, a letter he says he knows was received but never answered. It's a genuinely raw way to end the album, leaving something unresolved instead of tying it up too neatly.

Overall, this is a genuinely strong late career record. Rowland has always written with an unusual amount of honesty, and this album leans all the way into that, dealing with aging, family, addiction, and love without softening any of it for the sake of comfort. The one cover on the album, "Strange Feelin'," is the only real outlier in tone, but even that fits into the record's willingness to take a left turn. For a band that's been through as many lineups and reinventions as this one has, ending on something this personal and this well-written feels like exactly the right way to close the story.

Verdict: Essential

Personal Favorites: "Once A Man, Twice a Child," "My Life In England Pt.2," and "I'll Always Love You."