Album Review: This Is Us by Backstreet Boys

Since their mid-2000s reunion, the Backstreet Boys have been acting like adults so it's not entirely a surprise that they've decided to shake things up on This Is Us, their third album of the comeback and second since becoming a quartet. Teaming up once again with Max Martin and working with a host of modern hitmakers as RedOne, the group takes a left turn back toward the rhythm-heavy, harmony-laden dance-pop that made their reputation a decade before. Never mind the name of the album -- the group is tellingly quite willing to fade into background, letting the producers do their work, just content to sing the hooks.

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This Is Us isn’t Backstreet’s first album since their days on ?the boy-band A list. It’s not even their first since the departure of Kevin Richardson, who split prior to 2007’s snoozy Unbreakable. But the new disc does mark the band’s return after a decade to its old teen-pop sound, and considering these guys’ combined age, the result is surprisingly unembarrassing.

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