Backstreet Boys - Unbreakable Review

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Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Everything But Mine
3. Inconsolable
4. Something That I Already Know
5. Helpless When She Smiles
6. Any Other Way
7. One In A Million
8. Panic
9. You Can Let Go
10. Trouble Is
11. Treat Me Right
12. Love Will Keep You Up All Night
13. Unmistakable
14. Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon
15. Downpour (Bonus)
16. In Pieces (Bonus)

Ranking: #175 for 2007

user rating

3.5
great

Chart.

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4.0
excellent

Dave de Sylvia STAFF (188 Reviews)

2007-10-28 | 59 comments | 10,048 views

Summary: Pound for pound and song for song, Unbreakable may just be the best pop album of the year so far.

At face value, it’s hard not to be cynical about the Backstreet’s fifth studio album, Unbreakable. It courts just about every popular music style and demographic out there, from the pre-teen schmaltz market through Timbaland-inspired electronic pop and adult contemporary country a la Rascal Flatts. But dig deeper, and it’s a little more complicated than that. In the past, the Backstreet Boys, or at least the real brains behind them, have (if nothing else) understood the value of utility; for four straight albums, they essentially recorded four killer singles, and picked up whatever shit was laying on the studio floor to fluff the record. (And judging by recent revelations about Lou Pearlman, that’s not the only fluffing they had to do.) With album sales in freefall, they could be forgiven for sticking to the formula; however, with Unbreakable, they’ve made what is either a coherent full-length album or a collection of fourteen quite different, quite strong, singles- it’s hard to tell. It’s not important either way; point is, Unbreakable is the first Backstreet Boys album to come packaged with an actual reason to buy.

By now very much Backstreet men, and their numbers just four since the departure of Kevin Richardson (the tall one) last year, the Boys have taken to writing songs themselves. Collaborating with Nashville producer/songwriter Dan Muckala, they put their names to three full-length songs and the gospel-tinged intro, while most of the other songs also come from country-based pens. As Unbreakable is essentially a do-over of 2005’s regrettable comeback Never Gone, they aim for a range of styles and employ a similar range of songwriters for the purpose. Jess Cates and Lindy Robbins are drafted to give a Maroon 5-like light funk touch to ‘Any Other Way,’ a pop rock number which apes Britney’s ‘Toxic’ with synthesised string sweeps, and the Beatles-esque chorus of ‘One In A Million’; Billy Mann (of P!nk fame) brings his power pop sensibilities to bear on ‘Panic’ and album highlight ‘Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon,’ both co-written with the band; while Kara DioGuardi and David Hodges (ex-Evanescence keyboardist) add some beef to power ballad ‘Something That I Already Know.’

In the main though, the best songs were written without the Boys’ involvement. Opening track proper ‘Everything But Mine’ is evocative of the Max Martin era, offering up as many thrills as possible within the confines of a radio single. A busy arrangement which encompasses Timbaland-like synths, shimmering electric guitar chords and a creeping Doors-like piano motif earths what is essentially a classic Backstreet Boys pop number, visceral four-piece harmonies and all. Lead single ‘Inconsolable’ is more indicative of the group’s recent material, a piano-led number with an obvious debt to Hanson, however the two tracks which follow it were arguably better candidates for release. ‘Something That I Already Know’ balances a soaring chorus atop a sparse nu-soul arrangement, while the lyrics, unusually for a Backstreet Boys, actually make sense and are actually pretty good. The Boys croon, believably: “ I don't wanna wait another minute / Put me out of my misery / I can read your mind, baby you're not in it / We're not what we used to be / You wouldn't have to lie to me if you would only let me go...” Evoking Matchbox 20, ‘Helpless When She Smiles’ is even better, hanging on the chorus: “I'm a house of cards in a hurricane / A reckless smile in the pouring rain / She cuts me and the pain is all I wanna feel.”

It’s very quickly evident that Unbreakable is as formulaic as anything the Backstreet Boys have done, however that was never a problem with the group. The arrangements are predictable, regardless of the style, and it does begin to grate as the album reaches its latter stages. The best songs are (with the exception of the fantastic closer) loaded to the front, but it maintains a good consistency throughout. The only really disappointing tracks are those which try too hard to fit into the boyband formula: ‘You Can Let Go’ and ‘Love Will Keep You Up All Night’ could be the kind of records to give Rob Thomas nightmares, were perfect openings not ruined with horribly misplaced choruses which aim for euphoria but just sound painful; while ‘Unmistakeable’ could be a perfectly serviceable (albeit throwaway) ballad, except it’s overloaded with pointless mid-90s electronics and vocal effects, disguising the fact that the Boys are actually pretty decent (though still studio-enhanced) singers. Minor complaints aside, pound for pound and song for song, Unbreakable may just be the best pop album of the year so far.

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