One could hear some crackling pop-rock guitars on their back catalogue, but now it’s strictly R & B studded with soulful croons. The boy (tsk-tsk) band are trying too hard but perhaps it’s consolation enough that they are not alone. Take That pulled off a successful comeback recently, and perhaps for NKOTB that was reason enough. It’s a trend that is catching on, but not as welcome in all cases. The men must realise they are stepping onto turf that has been stomped upon innumerable times and has changed its face since they kicked up the dust in the late 1980s. Competing with third-generation boy bands is really not that great an idea. The notion of old-school boy bands is non-existent today, boy bands are better defined in pop-rock with acts such as Simple Plan and the Jonas Brothers making the young girls squeal with joy. We are not exactly sure if the middle-aged men could evoke the same reaction. As for their old fan base, one must realise that boy bands are strictly a teen phase that you grow out of, so they mustn’t really expect mothers to jump at the prospect of a comeback, yes, perhaps, they would sneak a listen for nostalgia’s sake. The only tracks that might clutch gumption are ”˜Summertime’, ”˜Dirty Dancing’, and ”˜Twisted’. The funny thing is the men still retain the libido of a twenty-year-old. And Donnie Wahlburg’s previously receding hair line simply does not exist now ”“ which could also be metaphorically applied to describe the state of the band today.
