A Little Bit Longer
Jonas Brothers
A Little Bit Longer
(Hollywood Records )
By Cheryl Leong
Choice Cut : Lovebug, Video Girl, Sorry
Official website: http://www.jonasbrothers.com/
New Jersey trio, the Jonas Brothers, are a veritable adolescent force to reckon with. They are talented, disarmingly good-looking, with a spiffy dress sense to boot. Kevin (20), Joe (19) and Nick (15) Jonas write their own songs, play their own instruments, and are surely the 21st century answer to Hanson.
Polished bubblegum rock roots show up with "B B Good," before moving on to lead single, "Burnin' Up." The latter is a Maroon 5-esque funk-pop number that is rightfully "burnin' up" the charts as well. "Shelf" is softly melancholic, with wistful bass throbs, while "One Man Show" moves into heavier rock terrain, with Nick's trademark nasal vocals pinched to deliver the rock screams.
Starting off with laidback guitar plucks and tambourine shakes, "Lovebug" conveys a Jack Johnson folksy feel, before revving into a higher rock yowling gear. It ends with an absolutely irrelevant but fittingly endearing closing line "I dropped my pencil." "Can't Have You" is initially dark and foreshadowing with the strings and drums creating a mounting climax. It progresses into mellow rock, and is perhaps the most grown-up track on the album.
"Video Girl" is a rollicking, high-energy rant against wannabes in the entertainment industry. Aside from the awesome guitar solos, it is also a decidedly witty cautionary tale for all JoBros fans. Gradually moving away from the pop rock vibe, "Pushin Me Away" is just on the cusp of hard rock.
Easily the best of the lot, "Sorry" packs heartfelt lyrics alongside a pensive melody, with Nick's vocals straining to break from all the emotion. "Got Me Going Crazy" has a very '80s rock rhythm with its thumping drums. Written by Nick Jonas, "A Little Bit Longer" is about his hospitalization from his diabetes affliction. This album-closer is a poignant strings melody that plays well with his plaintive vocals. Maudlin it is not, but instead, teeters on an almost hopeful note.
In their third studio album, A Little Bit Long, the brothers opt for classical rock guitar riffs meshed with drops of zippy pop, as well as constant howls of "Yeahhh-Oww" thrown in for good measure. It seems the siblings are growing up before our very eyes (or ears, for that matter), developing and maturing their sound and lyrical matter. Nonetheless, the radio-friendly Disney flavor will still guarantee that tweeners to adults alike will be smitten. Perhaps by the end of the record, you'd be wishing that it was just "A Little Bit Longer."
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