Billboard Black & Blue Review
Source: Billboard
Backstreet's back, indeed. The act that helped start the ever-hot teen-pop movement returns with a collection shrewdly designed to affirm the boys' superior status as popmeisters while valiantly striving to prove their potential for adult durability. For those who require familiarity, there's the current single, "Shape Of My Heart," an unshakably catchy ballad that borrows the best bits from last year's "I Want It That Way" while incorporating several tasty new licks. It's one of several wonderfully engaging slow jams -- the best of which is "Time," a lovely group composition produced with soulful precision by Babyface. Beyond ballads, "Black & Blue" crackles with funk-inflected uptempo ditties that are notable for their rough edges. "Shining Star," another strikingly good group composition, stands out for its blend of seductive vocal growls and producer Rodney Jerkins' sharp hip-hop beats. Will this project bring these boys the credibility they clearly hanker? Not likely -- which is kinda sad, since their talent makes them more than just another clique of pretty harmonizers. But everything in its proper time. After a few spins of "Shape Of My Heart," that closet holding "hipsters" who are loathe to admit their guilt-riddled ardor for pure pop may just burst at the hinges.
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