The Backstreet Boys, Now With Added T-Pain

Our continuing look at the closing lines of new music reviews continues with a roundup of reactions to This Is Us, the seventh studio album from boy-turned-man band the Backstreet Boys: • “The fact the four-piece have roped in the talents of Max Martin (theirs and Britney’s songwriting saviour), RedOne (Lady Gaga’s favourite knob twiddler) and coolster T-Pain, highlight their pop ambitions. And the verdict is: for our sins, we actually quite like it.” [Sarah-Louise James, Daily Star] • “But the new disc does mark the band’s return after a decade to its old teen-pop sound, and considering these guys’ combined age, the result is surprisingly unembarrassing. Credit goes in large part to 
 au courant producers such as T-Pain (‘She’s a Dream’), RedOne (‘Straight Through My Heart’), and Max Martin (‘Bigger’), the group’s original Svengali. The strong vocals certainly don’t hurt 
 either.” [Mikael Wood, EW] • “Of course, it helps that they have a bunch of hooks here, too — hooks that aren’t quite as galvanizing as ‘I Want It That Way,’ but easily eclipsing those on the pedestrian Unbreakable, helping the band seem modern without seeming pandering. It’s a move that the New Kids on the Block couldn’t pull off on their tawdry, sex-obsessed comeback, and it’s one that the Backstreets seemed incapable of doing just a few years ago, but on This Is Us, the group sounds great for their age, and they sound like they’re at their peak — which is no guarantee of a hit, but it sure makes for a better album than they’ve produced in quite a while.” [Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide]