''The Time'' is the second album by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

pop band Bros and the follow-up to their debut ''

Push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

''. It was released on 16 October 1989 and was their first album as a duo of twins Matt and

Luke Goss Luke Damon Goss (born 29 September 1968) is an English actor, and drummer of the 1980s band Bros. He has appeared in numerous films including ''Blade II'' (2002) as Jared Nomak, ''One Night with the King'' (2006) as King Xerxes, '' Hellboy II ...

, following the departure of bassist

Craig Logan Craig Logan (born 22 April 1969) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and manager. He began his career as bassist in the pop band Bros. Career In early 1989, Logan left Bros to focus on songwriting and producing. Kim Appleby's song " Don't Worr ...

earlier in the year. It was also the first album to feature Matt and Luke as co-writers, along with

Nicky Graham Nicholas Lynedoch Graham is a musician, songwriter and music producer from the UK. He was born in Durban, South Africa, in January 1945, before his family returned to the UK in 1960. His musical career began when joining UK band The End in 1965 ...

. Four singles were released from the album: "Too Much", "Chocolate Box", "Madly in Love" and "Sister". The track "Sister" was written about Matt and Luke's stepsister Carolyn, who was killed in a collision with a drunk driver in London in 1988. The album reached number four in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

and was certified gold in the UK.

Critical reception

Mike Soutar of '' Smash Hits'' recognised the duo's talent and stated that their playing had become more accomplished and that their sound was "more mature" compared with debut album ''Push''. He called the opening four tracks "promising", but then went on to say, "Where Bros ''do'' come unstuck, however, is when they turn their attention to serious 'social' issues, namely drugs in 'Streetwise' and racism in 'Black & White'. Well intentioned as they may be, neither of these topics are particularly new to pop music, and Bros have nothing fresh to say about them... And that's Bros' big problem: about half the songs on this LP are just ideas thrown together and never really finished properly." In ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Simon Williams stated that "the most astonishing fact is that the boys have social consciences" and that "the messages are delivered in a trite manner, but their earnestness can't be denied". However, he called the music "crap, f—ed up funk workouts which

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...

perfected five years ago ... And the bottom line is that Bros are sorely short of chummy, hummable tunes." Lloyd Bradley of '' Q'' stated that the duo were attempting to break the US market by copying

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's mix of pop and rock, complete with Jackson's vocal stylings, but "in trying for a level of aggression totally at odds with their long suit – punchy easily danceable pop – it sounds uncomfortably forced". His conclusion about the album was that "it's difficult to see its appeal: while remaining distinctly juvenile, by losing its predecessor's essential innocence, it's a little too, er, challenging for he US'sestablished market". Self-confessed "Bros apologist" Andy Ross of ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' was disappointed with the album, calling the songs "well-above-average pop" but that "the major criticism is that the material is polished to the extent of losing all character ... The most so-so record of the year." In ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' Andrew Martin called the album a "response to apparent waning popularity", stating that "The drums may sound meatier, the guitar raunchier and the lyrics as risky as they are banal", and concluded, "Bros's second album surprises no-one". Tim Southwell of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...

'' praised Matt Goss's vocals and the album's production, and said that "all 10 songs are delivered with skill and a soulful zest". However, he criticised the "dire Stevie Wonder imitations" and the "lyrical naïvety", with the exception of "Sister", and said that "Bros should credit their fans with a bit more upstairs before they are outgrown by the very people who made them famous." In a retrospective review, William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

noted that Bros were coming to the end of their popularity, and that their music had not travelled well across the Atlantic, saying, "As with most teenage heartthrobs, the music wasn't the point; all of these songs are heavily produced, glossy dance tracks in which Matt Goss's enthusiastic but thin vocals are the least noticeable aspect. The point was image, and without a big promotional push, that image never became visible to Americans, while, in England, it was only good for the life of this record, completing Bros' two years of fame."

Track listing

US and Canada version

Personnel

Bros *

Matt Goss Matthew Weston Goss (born 29 September 1968) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer of 1980s pop group Bros, which also featured his twin brother Luke as the drummer. Goss as a solo artist has released five st ...

– vocals, keyboards, programming and bass *

– drums, percussion, keyboards, programming and bass Additional personnel * Scott Davidson – keyboards, programming and bass *Paul Gendler – guitars *

– keyboards, programming and bass *Paul Powell – bass on "Madly in Love" *Jim Turner – saxophone *Brass arrangements and playing by the

Kick Horns Kick Horns are a UK horn section based in London. They have worked prolifically as session musicians with a wide variety of performers, and have also recorded as an ensemble. The Kick Horns were established in the 1980s by Simon C. Clarke and Ti ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Time (Bros Album) 1989 albums Bros (British band) albums CBS Records albums