CD Review: Jonas Brothers
Greg Kot - Chicago TribuneIssue date: 6/25/09 Section: Music
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Lines, Vines and Trying Times
(Hollywood)
Grade: C-
On the Jonas Brothers' fourth album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times, the latest Disney teen-pop juggernaut dons the trappings of adulthood: bigger orchestrations, soul-dipped vocals, lyrics that speak in metaphors instead of puppy-love pronouncements. But the rush to maturity is, well, premature for Kevin (age 21), Joe (19) and Nick (16).
The bros did a decent job punching out peppy, new-wave-lite anthems on the 2008 million-seller A Little Bit Longer. But the strings and horns on Lines, Vines and Trying Times only bog things down. The soul voicings, a new direction suggested by their unfortunate pairing with Stevie Wonder last February on the Grammy Awards telecast, are strained, evoking a cruise-ship version of Hall and Oates.
And as for the lyrics, those metaphors only go so deep: A crumbling relationship is likened to "World War III," and "Turn Right" stalls on "the never-ending racetrack you call life." Worst of all, they go all gangsta on us (in the nicest possible way) on "Don't Charge Me for the Crime," a collaboration with the usually reliable Common.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 6
Melissa
posted 6/25/09 @ 8:38 PM MST
Why don't I just help with this article. The album rocks. :D There I said it. They sound great on the album.
GreatPopFan
posted 6/25/09 @ 8:43 PM MST
I think it's excellent...people have forgotten what great pop music can sound like. The Jonases do genuinely deliver it, even if their youth and inexperience sometimes shows through - it's still good stuff, even better live. (Continued…)
Joitou2
posted 6/26/09 @ 8:17 AM MST
The first time I listened to it, it was kinda of iffy. But, after I got over the shock of how different this album is, I decided to give it another chance. (Continued…)
Andreadlc
posted 6/26/09 @ 8:36 PM MST
I think it's good. Sure, it's a BIT pretentious but eh, they're teenagers (most of them, anyway).
The horn solo in 'Much Better' is sheer genius. It gave me goosebumps. (Continued…)
Katherine
posted 6/27/09 @ 4:05 AM MST
It would really be nice if these 'critics' could actually critique an album without a bias and just listen to the music. I know that if that were the case, this rating would be much higher than a C-. (Continued…)
aisha
posted 6/27/09 @ 12:13 PM MST
wel ithink tht "lines, vines, and trying times" ROCKS evn 'dont charge me for the crime' sounds gud once u get ovr the shock;)
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