Wait, you're saying, why is this being reviewed? This is teen stuff! Well, the Jonas Brothers are even making mature college kids sit up and take notice.
As much as I want to say they're just another teen phenomenon, their newest album, A Little Bit Longer, is bursting with too much energy and, yes, good music.
The Jonas Brothers also have entered a new age in music, recording most of the album aboard their state-of-the-art tour bus.
They start out strong with BB Good
the worst title of the album, but it will have the teenage girls swooning and the rest of us slightly taken aback by the '80s hair-metal guitar lines and rhythms.
Video Girl is this generation's Celebrity but includes ' gasp ' a guitar solo by college-age brother Kevin and a genuine pop/rock sound, if you disregard the juvenile intro.
Singer/guitarist brother Nick is apparently the musical mastermind of the trio. Unfortunately, at 15 years old, he still is getting through puberty, so he is screechy when reaching for high notes, as in the painful Sorry.
Fortunately, older brother Joe's voice has settled in, and he has an amazing range for a just-legal singer. Got Me Going Crazy is a complete rocker, and his voice has a little bit of the Jagger swagger.
There are clear '80s influences in the synthesizer and cheesy keyboard that sometimes ride under the music of a band that was barely alive as the '80s ended.
One Man Show and Pushin' Me Away show instances of very, very, VERY early punk. The ballads are all stuffed full of cheese, especially the harmonies on Can't Have You. The slow songs on last year's Jonas Brothers still beat out this album's attempts, except Lovebug a breezy, Bobby McFerrin-esque ditty until the very surprising ending.
They have been compared to the previous brother trio, the now-superb Hanson. Though they haven't quite reached those musical heights yet, their songwriting ability and instrumental style is beyond their years. These songs will grow on you and then weasel their way into your head, like the st-st-stuttering Miley Cyrus torture song, See You Again.
A Little Bit Longer proves that The Jonas Brothers are definitely the best young group of the last few years. As long as they don't let themselves get completely devoured by Disney, it is almost certain they will continue on to a full rock career.
17
Archives
Susan Tebben
200808148493midsize.jpeg
Siblings show why theyG
