| JONAS BROTHERS - Lines, Vines and Trying Times |
| Written by Shahlin Graves | ||
| Wednesday, 01 July 2009 09:00 | ||
'Lines, Vines and Trying Times', is best listened to as a slightly amusing game of; spot-the-ex-girlfriend-reference. The album begins with the dramatic 'World War III'; perhaps a reciprocal to Miley Cyrus's '7 Things'? Sample lyrics include; "Telling lies just to feel happy", "Everybody's out for blood", "You start screamin' wake the neighbours"... First single 'Paranoid' is not as catchy as 'Burnin Up' was, but is entirely forgiven thanks to its cruise-y road-trip suitability. Just; Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas harmonising, no rapping, thank goodness. 'Paranoid' does however, pose a burning question. To whom do the following lines address? "That's why my ex is still my ex / I never trust a word she says / I'm runnin' all the background checks. And she's freakin' out"... Miley? Taylor Swift?! Selena Gomez?? 'Fly With Me' showcases the Jonas Brothers, doing what they do best. Nick Jonas delivers adorable one-liners, to feed the day-dreams of teenage girls worldwide. "If it's you and me forever / If it's you and me right now / I'd be all right"... "If we chase the stars to lose our shadows / Peter Pan and Wendy turned out fine / So, won't you fly with me?" Forget the irritating 'Night At The Museum 2' association and you have a fine viral single, making good use of the quintessential hallmarks of the bands self-titled, second album. Just in case you were too busy swooning over the album artwork for 'Lines, Vines and Trying Times', track four 'Poison Ivy', makes it blindingly clear what this album revolves around. Never before, have I wanted to know less about the love-lives of two teenage pin-up's, (Kevin Jonas is currently spoken for, by a long-time girlfriend and childhood-friend). The Jo'Bros spell it out for you; "Now I found out you were lying / When you told me you were trying / Just to medicate the rash / Tangled vines they are deceiving / From the lines that now are leading / To the truth I need to hear"... All three brothers plus bassist Greg Garbowsky are credited with writing these blatant life-lessons; girls lie, nice boys are always the last to know... and ex-girlfriends dig themselves holes, that they can't publicise their way out of. Shamelessly hopping aboard the publicity-train themselves, Nick Jonas and Miley Cyrus's duet 'Before The Storm', has certainly blitzed up its own gossip-mongering tempest, fuelled by online blogs and a surprise appearance by Cyrus to sing the song live at the kick-off date of the JB World Tour. Oh, young love... 'Before The Storm' deserves its own Disney Channel movie. Think; a slightly country-pop version of Demi Lovato's JB-featuring 'On The Line', with progressive instrumentation. 'Hey Baby' is utterly forgettable. Nick states in the album liner notes, that it had been written for the last album. Forgotten and dusted, it should have stayed. Likewise, 'What Did I Do To Your Heart' possesses the harshest lines that Disney may have ever let be recorded... "What did I do to your heart? / Did I break it? / Apart / Did I break it? / Your heart"... Ironically borrowing fiddle-y pop sounds à la Taylor Swift 'Should've Said No', OH Jonas. Boybands are not meant to grow up. Men-bands-that-are-secret-BOYbands only work, in the elite name-dropping-circumstances of Tinted Windows... and nobody else. I am much bothered, by 'Much Better'. Joe Jonas has forever killed the better half of my affection for his silly-self. "I got a rep for breakin' hearts / Now I'm done with superstars / And all the tears on her guitar / I'm not bitter"... Don't flatter yourself Joe. Taylor Swift's 2007 'Tear Drops On My Guitar', refers to a Drew, from a time well-before you learnt to make twenty-seven second phone-calls. If the first verse of 'Much Better' wasn't enough to ring the alarms of Team Taylor, verse two thoughtfully ridicules the friendship club of former Jonas Brothers girlfriends; Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus. "Now I've got some enemies / And they're all friends suddenly / BFF's eternally"... Joe unconvincingly croons that he is "not bitter", against a charmingly Bee Gee's and Neil Diamond-influenced waltz. Live, Joe opts to swapping "superstar" for the not-obvious-at-all; "country star"... "Not bitter", huh? Coward. 'Black Keys' further showcases the one-man Nick Jonas-band. In Nick's first song to be written only using black piano keys, hope is stoked from proof that the Jonas Brothers still remember how to write songs without exploiting dirty, lyrical blows. The song's endearing closer; "Sometimes a fight is better black and white", speaks too soon. Track ten 'Don't Charge Me For The Crime' indulges the Jonas Brothers in further exploratory-rap, featuring genre-veteran; Common. Armed bank robberies and guilty court trials, belong on a Green Day real-tale concept album. "I looked at my man as the cops surround him / A teen on the scene with no objective / The American dream can be so deceptive"... While I silently applaud the shot at more sophisticated lyric-writing, I not-so-silently scream for the transparentness of affectionate crushing, which lived and breathed within the heart of JB's self-titled album. 'Turn Right' continues to run with conceptual lyrics. Thankfully, with no further musical surprises. True, blue, acoustics and a string-section. The album's parting shot lies within 'Don't Speak'. It appears that the Jonas Brothers decided that a thinly-veiled self-probe, would perhaps counterbalance the rest of the album. "I thought I was cool / But I just looked a fool"... But it's too little, too late. Feel-good bonus-track 'Keep It Real', lifted from the J.O.N.A.S. TV show soundtrack, aids in helping to forget the distracting mess of JB genre-exploring, only overlooked by their ages; 16, 19 and 21 respectively. You will love this album, because you are a Jonas Brothers fan. You will buy this album, because you live in the eternal hopes of one day seeing the Jo'Bros live. Everyone, has their unashamed (or guilty) pleasures. Boybands and Disney, are mine. Combine the two and it's a straight sell. All complaints withstanding, this is not my favourite Jonas Brothers album but will suffice, until the band finally figure out who they want to be... even if that means, collaborations with Chris Brown and Timbaland finally seeing the light of day. |
