The Backstreet Boys new album ‘DNA’ has brought the band back into the spotlight after more than a decade. The new album has generated great feedback, giving them their first Grammy nomination in 17 years and first pop song hit in 11 years.
But the band did not make many changes to their music. Rather, they stuck to their harmony-driven pop sound while progressing it to fit today’s audience. This was a smart move because the band is now able to reach a broader audience, which now includes not only the people who listened to the band in the 90’s but also the teenagers of 2019.
The Band has grown though, by taking different paths to further engage their audiences in a variety of different genres while still having a pop feeling.
I have never been a huge Backstreet Boys fan, and I was never into a lot of pop songs. I have always been a person who listens to country and rap, but this album has a little bit of the country feel to it and some of the songs were pretty well written.
One song that was very interesting to me was “Breathe” which was an acapella type song, and I still do not know how I completely feel about it.
The song itself had a good message, including lyrics such as “Don’t let go when the daylight’s gone, “cause it’s always darkest before the dawn.” However, the style it was presented in differed from much of the rest of the album.
It took me a few times of listening to the songs to really get into them and finally buy into the whole album comeback, but once I did some of the songs were so enjoyable that I added them to my daily playlist; such as “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, “Nobody Else”, and “Breathe”. These songs included strong country undertones, a genre I enjoy.
I appreciate the band’s attempt at joining genres while still maintaining the aesthetic that made them famous in the first place.
As with most albums, there were a select number of songs that were not as catchy, such as “OK.” It is named appropriately due to its trite message.
The Backstreet Boys comeback album ‘DNA’ was a surprising shock for how the band has progressed and grown into something that reaches a wider audience. I rate this album 4 stars out of 5.