PopSyndicate.com

The “boys” are back!

New Kids On The Block — five now fully-grown men who forever defined how the modern boy band would look and sound — are back together for the very first time in nearly 15 YEARS.  Their latest album is simply titled, The Block, which features a few newbies and several of NKOTB’s most popular hits.

Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood gathered together after hearing a song titled “Click, Click, Click” and decided to do this album.  (Incidentally, their first single is “Click, Click, Click,” set to be a big hit when it releases in Europe.) “Click” is a remake. After such hits as “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” “Cover Girl,” “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time),” “Hangin’ Tough,” “I’ll Be Loving You,” “Step By Step” and “Tonight,” they decided the time had come to put together an album that they would generate on their own and see how it would go. The buzz has gone nuclear - not bad for the five who startled audiences with their performances and became known as “the” boy band to mimic.
This time around, however, they are after the audiences that were with them in the 90s, people who are now 25 to 35 years old and would remember what the group sounded like when they first became popular.  Their sound has grown as they have.  The album is a blend of rap, hip hop and R&B.  They celebrate their sound with the likes of Ne-Yo, Lady Gaga, the Pussycat Dolls and Akon.

NKOTB’s sound is the same as it was in the 90s, but their songs have moved forward into the adult world with such titles as “Single” and “Sexify My Love.”  The harmonies are what we remember from the “old” days and these songs—as well as many more on the 13-track album—are meant for adults.  There’s a certain “swing and sway” about their music that has grown with the times and will make audiences scream for more.  On their tour they plan to perform some of their older songs as well as introduce new ones. Most likely, those who attend NKOTB’s performances will be there to hear the older songs.  They will enjoy the new tunes as well.

The Block is the kind of album that you are either going to love or hate – depending on how involved you were with the NKOTB fan craze of the 90s. There’s no middle ground here.  I can guarantee that you’ll play some songs on the album more than others.  Those songs will most likely be “Click, Click, Click,” “Single,” “Grown Man,” and “Sexify My Love.”  I enjoyed the entire album because of its laid back style and rhythms of the songs, along with the rap.

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