The Block NKOTB Album Review

Ok...ok...I admit it. I used to be a huge NKOTB fan. I lined up to watch their show. I have all their albums and I lost my Joe McIntyre doll. =) My favorite NKOTB members were Jonathan Knight and Joe McIntyre. 

Two days ago, my beloved hubby surprised me with a copy of their new album entitled The Block. As a huge NKOTB fan, I was quite surprised with the sound of The Block. The songs sounded very modern. The obvious genre is R&B. This is probably the work of Donnie Wahlberg who was one of the executive producers. At first listen, I was really taken aback by the songs. I felt that I couldn't relate. Somehow I can't seem to veer away from the image of 30 and 40-somethings singing hiphop.

After the second, third and nth listen, though, I can say that the album is not bad. The songs sounded fresh and their gamble may actually work in making NKOTB relevant once again. Although I missed the beautiful ballads (the strongest selling point of the band, in my opinion), I still liked their mid-tempo songs especially 2 in the Morning and Click, Click, Click. Stare at You sounded very much like their old ballads but somehow this song did not speak to me. I was a bit appalled by the simplistic and forced rhyming lyrics of Close to You. As for the faster songs, my favorites are Single and Grown Man. Single will be a great follow-up single to Summertime--a song that reminded me of NKOTB circa Step by Step. Still, I am glad NKOTB is back. It's great to revisit old favorites and discover something new about them.