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Barnes and Noble
7
Current price: $11.99
Barnes and Noble
7
Current price: $11.99
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Size: CD
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With
trends changing ever more rapidly, the forces behind
took action: just ten months after the release of their debut
, the inevitably named follow-up
arrived. However, in a misguided attempt to make the group's prefab
sound more mature,
ditched their debut's fun, bouncy style in favor of by-the-numbers
and a forced eclecticism, both of which muddied
's sound instead of expanding it. Though their songs were never as recognizable as
,
, or
's,
's cheerful, more innocent style at least set them apart from the rest of the
B-list. But by adopting the poses of the style's bigger stars -- as on the
-esque
and the boy-band-lite
--
ends up sounding more faceless than before. Anonymous
like
and
emphasize the fact that the group's voices aren't as strong or interesting as those of
's stars; the would-be
(thankfully, not a cover of
' classic) confirm just how thin the septet's pipes are. Worse,
's first half never settles into a comfortable groove. Instead, the album skips from
's fusion of sugary
, and
to
a lite version of
that whitewashes everything about the style, down to the syncopated,
-style beats. Wanting to showcase the band's range is understandable, but the disappointing results only prove how little they grew in the ten months between their first and second albums. However,
doesn't completely dispose of
's fun, carefree sound:
is a brassy update of
's
charm, while
is a slick
confection that proves that the group's vocals can have some oomph to them.
reaches all the way back to
for its fluffy inspiration, and despite its awkward title,
is a shiny
trifle that sounds like
or
could've sung it back in the day. Though
's fans will undoubtedly gobble up
as eagerly as they did
, some of them may notice that this time around, the group's candy-coated
is considerably blander. ~ Heather Phares