It was revealed today that the Jonas Brothers are expected to sell around 725,000 copies of their new album, A Little Bit Longer, officially making them power players in the music industry.To many, the idea that the Jonas Brothers could outsell Coldplay, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Usher, etc. is a travesty. How did three Jersey kids become the leaders of the teen pop craze?
By catering to their audience.
A Little Bit Longer is nothing if not a gift to their millions of tween fans (and their credit-card wielding mothers). While the trio attempt to push forward, the album is still largely directed towards the screaming girls who make their concerts minute sell-outs. For the rest of music-buying public, there isn't much to appreciate.
Back to the "pushing forward". Their last, self-titled album contained songs that sounded the same. This time around, the brothers try at diversifying their sound. Whether its Maroon 5-style funk, Jack Johnson-like soft rock, or Backstreet Boys-flavored balladry, each song seems to have its own identity. Their basic sound is still a mix of pop and rock, which I'm not a big fan of. Still, the album's variety is a sign that maybe they can do more as they get older and the fanbases change. Along with expanding their musical horizon, they also dabble in more intricate and complicated production. Some of their songs are layered with a variety of instruments. Sometimes, it works (the title track and "Tonight"). Other times, it fails ("Pushin' Me Away" and the fourth quarter of "Love Bug"). You can appreciate the hit and miss as their growth as musicians.
That's when the growth pretty much stops.
Remember when I noted that the album would please the tweens, but not everyone else? Well, its pretty much the truth. Virtually every song on the album (save for the title track) deals with teenage love, relationships, etc. To be fair, they are teens (except for Kevin), but if only the same attention given to production value was given to lyrical content. "BB Good", the opening track, sounds like something they would do a year ago, completely below the rest of the album. "One Man Show", a kiss-off to a girlfriend, sounds more petulant than its meant to be. "Pushin' Me Away", while it is one of the most interesting songs production-wise, does nothing lyrically. Those noted, there are some songs that show lyrical growth. "A Little Bit Longer", Nick's song about diabetes, has more depth and complexity than is expected from a 15-year old. "Video Girl", a teen version of "Gold Digger", is pretty clever in its scolding of gold-diggers.
Along with the lyrics, there is one more thing keeping this album from true goodness; their voices. To be frank, they're not good singers. They are talented, no one's denying that (and if you do, you're just being a jerk). Singing just isn't their thing. Regardless of that fact, the two lead singers Joe and Nick tend to go out on a singing, stretching their thin vocal chords, releasing screeches and squeals that are hard to tolerate. They sound better when they don't push their voices to the limit, like they believe rock stars do. "Love Bug" is a good example of their voices sounding okay, when they just play it safe. "Pushin' Me Away" is a great example of their voices sounding tragic when they push things too far. Nick is more guilty of this than anyone. On "Sorry", he sings the second verse, and its excruciating (and I'm being polite).
Song-wise, the album is a mixed bag of good, terrible, and okay.The best song on the album, no contest, is "A Little Bit Longer", with its unabashedly poignant lyrics. The worst on the album is a tie between "BB Good" and "Pushin' Me Away". The first is a step backward for the group, while the second is a vocal disaster. The other songs fall somewhere in between (Burnin' Up toward the top).
Before I end this, let me make a few things clear. One, I am not dissuading the fans from buying this. It's perfect for them. For the rest of us, I can't be too sure. Two, I do not hate the Jonas Brothers. For personal reasons, I just can't (Nick and diabetes). I have listened to this album (thanks to MTV's The Leak) and I have done my best to write a unbiased review, from what I believe makes a good album. This review was written without malice, because I have none for them. Three, hating the Jonas Brothers is both pointless and pretentious. While I'm not jumping for joy over this album, the random hate for them is dumb. They are talented, and they have appeal (they sold 201,000 copies of an album in one day, for God's sake). That should be respected. Plus, insulting a group who are still practically kids for no real reason sounds not only pathetic, but obnoxious and tactless.
Now, I give this album a 6 out of 10. It is by far much better than their last album (it was practically impossible to listen to), but they still have a lot of growing as musicians to do. They showed that they can grow and expand their sound, but they still lack both the vocal ability and the complete lyrical maturity to cross over. Disney's support won't last forever (in fact, the head honchos are probably auditioning their replacements as I type), so they need to take bigger steps into the pop world. Hopefully for them, it will only take "a little bit longer".
BWU Recommends: "A Little Bit Longer" (#2 on the BWU Hot 40 as of 8/13), "Burnin' Up", "Love Bug" (try to ignore the ending), "Got Me Going Crazy"
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