The James Logan Courier

By Greg Kot
Chicago Tribune (MCT)



On the Jonas Brothers' fourth album, "Lines, Vines and Trying Times," the latest Disney teen-pop juggernaut dons the trappings of adulthood: bigger orchestrations, soul-dipped vocals, lyrics that speak in metaphors instead of puppy-love pronouncements. But the rush to maturity is, well, premature for Kevin (age 21), Joe (19) and Nick (16).

The bros did a decent job punching out peppy, new-wave-lite anthems on the 2008 million-seller "A Little Bit Longer." But the strings and horns on "Lines, Vines and Trying Times" only bog things down. The soul voicings, a new direction suggested by their unfortunate pairing with Stevie Wonder last February on the Grammy Awards telecast, are strained, evoking a cruise-ship version of Hall and Oates.

And as for the lyrics, those metaphors only go so deep: A crumbling relationship is likened to "World War III," and "Turn Right" stalls on "the never-ending racetrack you call life." Worst of all, they go all gangsta on us (in the nicest possible way) on "Don't Charge Me for the Crime," a collaboration with the usually reliable Common.

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