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Entertainment WeeklyIt's a nice run of numbers that really gets going with 'Shelf,' an impassioned advisory not to leave the singers' hearts in the titular location. [15 Aug 2008, p.64]
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The boys' fantastic third album is steeped in the fuzzed-up guitars, three-part harmonies and cotton-candy choruses of Big Star and Cheap Trick.
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Yes, the Jonases are squishy, vanilla and too sweet. But so is an ice-cream cone. And ice-cream cones are freakin’ delicious. Especially when they come with a cherry on top.
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The key to its success is that it is pitched perfectly between frivolous, disposable pop and meticulous mature craft, so as the Jonas Brothers continue to grow they might wind up losing that sense of fun that is integral to their music, but with this record they hit all the notes just right.
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It's unfortunate that much of their sophomore effort is submerged in an ocean of heavy-handed production, so deep that the boys' natural talents struggle to break the surface.
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The trio's new wave-inspired songs may be derivative--and sometimes too derivative, as on the corny, Cars-lite opener, 'B.B. Good'--but they simply sound fresher.
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Luckily, the New Jersey trio also continues to bolster its puppy-love perspective with an increasingly substantial brand of power pop that grows more palatable to the general population with each release.
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The Jonases show more vulnerability with such numbers as the mid-tempo, yearning love song 'Shelf' and the title ballad, with its plaintive vocals and subtle touches of piano and strings. Still, the album is mostly a bland gloss, offering no depth or cleverness in material that covers familiar territory.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 70 out of 112
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Mixed: 2 out of 112
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Negative: 40 out of 112
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Nov 28, 2012
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Aug 11, 2010
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NCOct 7, 2008