Unbreakable - Reviewed : Backstreet Boys shatter boy band stigma with "Unbreakable"

While the title might be grossly cliché, the content screams what's true: Backstreet's back.

The Backstreet Boys released their newest album "Unbreakable" on Oct. 30. One third of the world was ecstatic, another third had no idea the Boys were still making music, and the rest of the world flat out didn't care. But regardless of who thinks what, the boy band pioneers of the late 90s are still alive and kicking with their fifth studio album.

Unlike their official comeback album, 2005's "Never Gone," which was a combination of rock tunes and heart-wrenching ballads, this album finds the Boys getting back into the groove of the classic pop songs that made them famous. Think back to the days of "I Want It That Way" and "The Call," only now the Boys are now very much men and a member down.

Kevin Richardson left the group some months ago to pursue other interests. It's sad to say, but Richardson will be missed more for his presence in the group and with fans than his vocal contribution.

With Richardson gone, Howie Dorough, the falsetto of the group, has gotten the opportunity to make his presence known. It isn't a very big opportunity, though, as the majority of the vocals are still dominated by Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, and Nick Carter, who belts it out hardcore over his fellow bandmates on a majority of the songs, even on the choruses. But, hey, if you got it, flaunt it. Carter definitely has it and more.

The Boys and their producers got smart on this album, turning many potentially sappy love songs into future upbeat club hits. Nearly every song on "Unbreakable" is Top 40 material and ready for radio, especially "Everything But Mine" and "Any Other Way." "In Pieces" sounds like the newest song from The Fray and a few tracks are especially catchy. "One In a Million" and "Panic" deserve to spin in Philadelphia's hottest clubs.

The first time I listen to an album, I listen for music. The second time, my ear is tuned for lyrics. Some of the tracks, like "Downpour," surprised me because the lyrics were truly poetic and thought -provoking. "Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon" struck me as being very Beatles-esque. You can really hear the parallels in the lines, "The one you hate to love is made for you" and "Last night I saw the fireworks/ The kind of pain that never hurts." You wouldn't expect this from a band that doesn't write their own songs, right? Well, guess what-the Backstreet Boys do write their own songs. They wrote about half of the tracks on this album. It was a shock to see that JC Chasez, a former member of rival boy band *NSYNC, had collaborated with McLean on a song. "Unbreakable" is packed with many awesome surprises. "Treat Me Right" has a pretty happy beat, but there's a moment in the pre-chorus where the tone changes and becomes, in a word, scary. To put it simply, this is the part in the song where the sun went behind a cloud. I think it's the most ingenious thing I've heard out of pop music in a long time.