Jonas Brothers
Lines, Vines and Trying Times
Release Date: Jun 16, 2009
Genre(s): Rock, Pop
Record label: Hollywood
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Album Review: Lines, Vines and Trying Times by Jonas Brothers
Average, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating B-
The Mouseketeers’ prerogative, it seems, is to rage against the Disney machine that made them. In lieu of racy Vanity Fair photo shoots or leaked full-frontal iPhone pics, however, brothers Nick, 16, Joe, 19, and Kevin, 21, have given us their rebel yell in album form. Lines, Vines and Trying Times is the sound of a not-quite-quarter-life crisis, JoBros-style: heartthrob angst wrapped in glossy hooks, soaring pop-rock choruses, and (plus ça change) really great hair.
Based on rating 6/10
Subscribing to the time-honored practice of striking when the iron is hot, the Jonas Brothers put out Lines, Vines and Trying Times in June of 2009, making it their third album in one year. True, Lines and A Little Bit Longer were separated by a soundtrack to a concert film, but the flood of product is a true reflection of the peak of the group's popularity, just as how the over-produced, stretched-thin Lines is a reflection of their hectic schedule. Where A Little Bit Longer was built on a strong song foundation, Lines, Vines and Trying Times feels constructed from the outside in, with the concepts coming before the tunes, concepts that all take the Brothers Jonas further away from the fizzy, power pop fun.
Based on rating 4/10
In November 1983, Duran Duran released their third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger. In an interview not long after, Simon Le Bon told Rolling Stone that the album “is an adventure story about a little commando team. 'The Seven' is for us — the five band members and the two managers — and 'the Ragged Tiger' is success. Seven people running after success.
Based on rating 3/10
The Disney Channel Original Television Show Jonas is god-awful, even compared to the network’s other paltry offerings. The Sprouse twins, Demi Lovato, and Miley Cyrus somehow redeem their absurdly undemanding shows through their palpable ambition and lack of shame endemic to the child actor type. In comparison, the titular brothers of Jonas are downright calcified.
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