Monday, May 8, 2000

The Boys Aren't Bad

It's pop, but not.

"This Time Around", Hanson's much-anticipated follow-up to "Middle Of Nowhere", is an above average collection of teen pop music that teeters so close to the edge of teen rock, it's hard to lump it in the boy-band category.

They may be young, but the Hanson kids show up their rivals with this album. Chalk it up to the Dust Brothers or Jonny Lang, but the pioneers of the latest teen craze have grown up and gotten better, even though most people dismissed them as a one-hit wonder.

The Hanson boys first rocketed onto the music scene to the tune of "MMMBop" and screaming girls but now, after three years, they're back with a harder edge and deeper lyrics.

Unlike a lot of male teen groups whose lead voices start to crack and squeak with age, Taylor's growling, grown-up sound helps flesh out the new songs, complements their more complicated rifts, and separates them from the harmonizing pack of heart-throbs that litter radio stations everywhere.

The album's strongest tracks are "You Never Know," "If Only" and the stellar "Runaway Run". All three are full of rich sounds and avoid the often-heard synthesized drum-beat that plagues the painful "Bye Bye Bye" by, of course, *Nsync (yes, I hear the cries of rage from *Nsync fans - feel free to email me).

The most appealing aspect of "This Time Around" is that instead of finding one format that works, Isaac, Taylor and Zac have been brave enough to experiment, which has resulted in several good songs that don't sound like a re-hash of a teen-hit prototype.

Fans of teen pop may have a few complaints about this album, though. There aren't a large number catchy refrains and lines that stick in your head forever (a.k.a "Baby One More Time"). These new Hanson songs aren't as light and airy as some of their competitors' and, with the exception of "Runaway Run," listeners will have a difficult time whistling the tune unless they've heard the songs more than once.

Also, a few of the tracks that lean towards the ballad end of the album's spectrum are a bit forced and uneven. "Save Me" is a clunky pop love song that plods its way through cheesy lyrics.

But the support for Hanson is strong and loyal, and fans will probably make it past the experimentation and the occasional love song for a Hanson fix.

Only time and sales figures will be able to tell if the Hanson boys can draw attention away from *Nsync's flashiness and the Backstreet Boys' earnest harmonizing.

But even if "This Time Around" doesn't knock "No Strings Attached" out of the number 1 slot, Isaac, Zac and Taylor should be proud of their efforts.

Track Listing 1. You Never Know 2. If Only 3. This Time Around 4. Runaway Run 5. Save Me 6. Save Me 7. Dying To Be Alive 8. Can't Stop 9. Wish That I Was There 10. Love Song 11. Sure About It 12. Hand In Hand 13. A Song To Sing		Album rating Rate Hanson's new album 1 2 3 4 5 The results so far