Post-Disney Channel musicians usually go on to conquer the music industry in astonishing ways — the Jonas Brothers might not have gotten that memo. Their sixth studio album, blandly titled “The Album”, consists of songs seemingly meant for carefree, open-window summer driving and department store shopping. Simply put, the suitable duration for “The Album” will last only this summer.
“The Album” consists of 12 tracks, most with a runtime under three minutes and a total album runtime of 33 minutes. The band of brothers collaborated with American singer and producer Jon Bellion, who’s also featured on the album’s closing track, “Walls.” Together they helped produce several romantic, upbeat tracks, with an inspiration of Americana music and 70s soul. Iconic musical groups like Earth, Wind and Fire and the Bee Gees feel like endearing inspirations for this musical experiment of theirs.
All in all, the trio has a strong dedication to curating the ultimate summer mood while listening. It’s also extremely rare for any of the tracks to exist without the word “summer” in its lyrics. Though some of the songs can be played while enjoying the blazing sun, the heat does not last long for these songs.
What had amazing momentum but ended way too early was their first single “Wings”, which seemed to shamefully end abruptly at about two minutes. With more of its soaring bass line and strong funk-infused tempo, it could have soared higher. Bruno Mars-esqe “Celebrate!” blasted its triumphant horns for only two minutes as well, when they should have let them linger for longer. The instrumentals were what needed to shine in order to make the album more memorable and striking but sadly the short runtime of those songs constricted its momentum.
“Miracle” tries to give this album a miracle, as Nick’s falsetto vocals and a groovy, bass-loaded tempo provide some necessary soul and energy to the album’s opening. As its first song, it truly sets the precedent for how the rest of the album will go.
The majority of the tracks consist of romantic songs like “Montana Sky” and “Vacation Eyes”, both bringing in this idea of summer love and comradery. This grandiose idea of spending time with a significant other feels like summertime is incorporated consistently. With lyrics like “Cause when your body up in my hands, I get vacation eyes / And you’re looking summertime” and “You feel like summer, baby, heatin’ up my body”, it embodies what most of the album’s lyrics are.
To make that summer theme even more apparent, there are the back-to-back songs titled “Summer in the Hamptons” and “Summer Baby”, perhaps contributing a bit too much to this designated theme.
What is even more perplexing about “The Album” is that most of the songs, with barren lyrics consistent with the same theme, have about nine writers contributing to each of them. Perhaps they all aren’t contributing to the lyrics but if the chances are that at least half of them are, it still seems like way too many people to create those short, simplistic lyrics.
The second single released, “Waffle House”, relays those familial experiences of wanting to fight a family member at the popular breakfast restaurant chain. Though they sing about having “deep conversations at the Waffle House”, there is really nothing too deep or profound about the song itself. Though in a way, it is perhaps one of the most enjoyable tracks of the entire album, as its hook is one of the more defiable of them all.
The album rarely slows down its hot, funky momentum, it’s only near the end when “Little Bird” enters. It’s a serenade from Nick and Joe to their daughters, a song that is way more grown up than the entirety of their discography. In the song’s chorus, the brothers sing, “So please keep me in your heart / When you fly into somebody else's arms, little bird”. More meaningful, slower songs like that on the album would significantly do some well-needed distinctions between songs.
There is only a bit of musical variety throughout the 12 short, family-friendly songs, and still, nothing can cohesively stick out enough to be a trendy, poppy song of the summer. And with a theme representing the happenings of a careless summer, this album itself is quite careless. While it could be played while you’re “Burnin’ Up” in the hot summer sun, you might also be a “Sucker” for how little you get out of “The Album.”
