Ladies & gents, our boy band dreams have come alive-
Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) and Jordan Knight (New Kids on the Block) have
come together to form-you guessed it- Nick & Knight! Er, yeah. I know, it
sounds like the Nickelodeon late-night special ‘Nick @ Night’, but come on,
give them a chance- it’s actually good.
They make everything you want/expect in a pop-album: catchy
pop ballads with some R&B twists. It’s like the ‘90s are knocking on your
backdoor!
Now if that hasn’t turned you off and you’re still reading, hear me out: I’d rather have this playing on the mainstream radio stations than One Direction, who so famously uses other bands’ instrumentations and features vocals in the key of auto-tune. No, Nick & Knight feature a strong late 80s-early 90s boy-band sound that I’ve been missing. Each track features a funky pop rhythm you can’t deny- it’s like a modern, very urbanized Hall & Oates. I’ll stress the ‘very urbanized’ once more.
In particular, ‘Switch’ is probably their most stand-out
track on the album. It’s more up-tempo and mainly features Knight’s vocals,
which are blended smoothly with Nick’s raw style. The synth melody is horribly
catchy- I’ve been whistling it for a while now.
‘Take Me Home’ is a pop-ballad that has Nick belting lyrics
that sends you reeling back to Backstreet Boys days. It’s fan-girl central all
over this track.
Their last track ‘Halfway There’ is a classic. No trace of
funk can be found in this power-ballad that strangely reminds me of Rascal
Flatts…
Overall, Nick & Knight’s self-titled debut is nothing
new, but it’s enjoyable. If anything, Nick Carter's voice shines through this whole album. You won’t be
impressed with anything new, but it definitely has room on your shelf for the
nostalgia-revival corner that you have been slowly building up since your freshman
year of college. If you’re not over your fan-girl obsession for boy bands from
the 80s-90s (really, who is?!?), then this is everything you could ever dream
of.
6.5/10
For fans of: Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, 90s Boy
Bands
Katt Hass
Katt Hass
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