The Backstreet Boys are making a comeback that most likely tops all other comebacks that have been seen lately. The group has been together for sixteen years. Sixteen! Years! I’ve been a fan ever since I heard their first single. As a twenty four year old, this makes me feel almost as old as I felt when I could still remember listening to New Kids on the Block.

Their latest album, “This is Us,” which released October 6th, delivers an amazing combo of R&B and techno, liberally coated with the vocal talents that put the Backstreet Boys on the map in the first place. The Boys worked with top names like RedOne and T-Pain, so prepare yourself for some auto-tuning, but it’s not overdone, which is a welcome relief. The group puts their very own twist on modern trends in pop music and make it their very own.

The beats are catchy and utterly danceable, the lyrics are clean, and the slower tunes will melt your heart. The only weak track of the album happens to be “PDA.” I say weak because the lyrical content has echoes of material from New Kids on the Block’s “The Block,” and the heavy sexual innuendo doesn’t fit Backstreet very well.

Otherwise, the album is a fabulous, bubble gum popping, R&B flashback to the days when I had a major crush on A.J. McLean, mixed with an edge of today’s pop music. Favorite tracks include:

• Bigger
• If I Knew Then
• Straight Through My Heart

Click here to check out the group’s website. You can also pick up your copy via iTunes. The Deluxe Version (only on iTunes) is a must for long-time (read: hardcore) fans, as it includes seven videos – six live and your very own copy of the Straight Through My Heart music video – and a bonus track, “Helpless.”

And I have to admit, I still have a huge crush on A.J. McLean.

Photo by StarshineMag