Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

At first glance, there is nothing new about the generic pop rock of The Jonas Brothers. Joseph, Kevin and Nicholas are the sons of a New Jersey church pastor with 13 year old Nicholas the real star of the group with a fine soulful voice. For Brits, you'd be astonished listening to this to discover that the band are a smash hit in the USA having come under the wing of Disney who have been pushing them via radio and TV for the past six months. They're good looking and their generic teenage songs about girls and school in jaunty pop punk style has seen them become mainstream chart successes. Spread amongst all the sub-Hanson power pop are a few ballads that really highlight Nicholas Jonas' voice including "One Day At A Time" which is full of soppy teenage lovelorn yearning. Upbeat songs like "I Am What I Am" and "What I Go To School For" are all well and good but can't explain the massive success. That is down to a surprising yet wimpy cover of the Busted UK Top 10 hit "Year 3000". Obviously the English trio never had an American hit with the song or the Jonas Brothers would have been laughed out of the studio as theirs isn't a patch on the original. There isn't much here that explains their mega success but then again I'm not an 11 year old girl with their poster on my bedroom wall. I predict they will burn bright and fade quickly but that Nicholas Jonas will emerge as a solo artist of great repute in 2010 rather than in 3000.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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