On last year’s A Little Bit Longer, the Jonas Brothers sang
about crushes, falling in love and other things teens typically fret
over. On the follow-up, Lines, Vines and Trying Times, they’re
all grown up, bitching about broken hearts and how miserable girls make
them. Welcome to the real world, fellas. The album starts with a blast
of circa-’85 synth horns on “World War III,” which is about
relationship turmoil, not a nuclear-weapon crisis in North Korea. It’s
all “love sucks” from there.
Specifically, brother Joe takes swipes at Taylor Swift, whom he
dated for about 15 minutes last year. “I’m done with superstars and all
the tears on her guitar,” he sings on “Much Better.” He also compares
her to poison ivy in a song. Through it all, Nick, Joe and Kevin pile
on the hooks, loading Lines, Vines and Trying Times with enough
radio-ready super-pop to power their own teen franchise (their new
Disney Channel show premiered last month. Are you watching?). It’s a
bigger and better record than A Little Bit Longer, with horns,
strings, fiddles and a Miley Cyrus duet bringing some variety to the
Jonas Brothers’ glittering pop. Let the healing begin. — Michael Gallucci
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2009.
