January 26th, 2008

Album to look for: "Not Like Them"

Genre(s): Pop, R&B

City of Origin: Various

Record Label: TUG Entertainment

Myspace Page: Click Here

More times than you would probably like to openly admit, you've probably asked yourself "what the hell ever happened to boy bands?". It's indeed an inquiry that can leave even the most seasoned music aficionados, including yours truly, nothing short of befuddled. It really seems like they went as fast as they came.

The boy band "sub genre" of pop music was a huge craze that peaked in the late 90s and fizzled out in 2001. In my opinion, that brand of pop could still be viable if the two biggest groups in the genre, The Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, didn't commit "musical suicide" and decide to pull the plug on it themselves. A.J. form Backstreet had to go to rehab during this time, so the entire group went on an extended hiatus. Yeah, they're back now, but it's just not the same, man..

Over on the 'N Sync front, Justin (and J.C.) decided to go solo and that was that. Timberlake all but abandoned the bubble gum sound after working with Timbaland and J.C... well, let's not talk about him. Hip Hop filled the void Corporate America needed to brainwash youth to buy music in droves (albeit with less numbers than the pop days.. the lil' tikes got Limewire now. Isn't that cute?) and that's all she, sadly, wrote.

While we have seen guy groups like the short lived B2K, Diddy's ill-promoted B5 group, and the ghetto fabulous Power Rangers themselves, Pretty Ricky (should this even count?) over the last five years, they could all basically be lumped into the Urban/R&B category. It's seriously been awhile since we've seen a group of white boys step up to the plate to do the taboo "boy band" thing, and that's what NLT is doing, just with a more modern approach.

Is pop music on the fast track back to glory? NLT thinks so.

NLT, or "Not Like Them," is a good throwback to pop boy bands of yesteryear citing the influences of their fore fathers and other groups/artists like the recently knocked-up Christina Aguilera, Boyz II Men, Usher, The Temptations, & more.

I don't know if boy band music was ever your cup of tea, and while I wasn't screaming over old BSB videos on TRL or buying their albums when I was 13, I never hated on the music they made, either. While NLT's brand of pop is, like I said, modernized to fit with the sound of radio in today's climate (thanks Timbaland.. *rolls eyes*), it's still enjoyable from what I've heard.

The group, composed of Travis Garland, V Sevani, J.J. Thorne, and Kevin Michael McHale -- all under age 20, is under immense pressure to succeed in an era dominated by mindless, ringtone friendly music. The big question here is if they can prove pure pop music is still viable when all the original fans are pretty much my age... and we all know us old folk don't buy music anymore.

We'll see what these crazy kids can do when their self-titled debut, featuring production from Timbaland (as if that's surprising..), hits the shelves on Feb. 22nd, 2008. You can check out their official myspace page by clicking here.