The Backstreet Boys, "Never Gone" (Jive:) Backstreet's back, all right. But why?

. The Backstreet Boys, "Never Gone" (Jive:) Backstreet's back, all right. But why?	.
The Backstreet Boys have returned from a five-year hiatus, recuperating from the excessive amount of success they received during their five-year run as one of the most popular boy bands in the world, to release their fifth album. The opening song, "Incomplete," is a little sad. One could assume it's a love song, but could it also be a plea from BSB (Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough) longing for the unconditional admiration they once had from millions of teenage girls? It's obvious that Carter has been polishing his vocal chords while in hiding. He's no longer the youngest member with the baby voice. On "Weird World," he goes from a mid-range tone to a bird-like tenor. The rest of the guys just let him soar while singing backup in four-part harmony. This format continues throughout the 12-track album, which features Carter and McClean as lead vocalists, rather than Litrell, who was the frontman of the group when it first emerged in 1997 from the backstreets of Orlando. Each song features doubled or layered voices, helping the guys sound more solid. But the ultra-blended vocals on every song make it hard to distinguish between who's singing what, creating a one-dimensional sound that's boring. Do people still care about BSB, and will the boys, I mean men, be able to reclaim a spot? Probably not. "Never Gone" doesn't take the BSB sound anywhere except to adult-contemporary playlists. -- Mary Awosika