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The Block
by
The Block Image
Metascore
51

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 48 Ratings

  • Summary: Fourteen years since their last studio record, the Kids are back with their newest album on the Interscope label.

Top Track

Summertime
Joe: Jones Beach 1988 Come on (Come on) Do you remember, or should I rewind To that summer when you caught my eye I played it cool The weather was... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
  1. Los Angeles Times
    100
    Believe it or not, though, they've got the right stuff.
  2. PopMatters
    60
    While the New Kids are definitely capable of making a great album (seriously...if you’re an R&B or pop fan, go to a used record store or half.com and pick up a copy of 1994’s "Face the Music"--you’ll be very pleasantly surprised), this album is only great in spots.
  3. NOW Magazine
    60
    Surprisingly, it’s a light and catchy bunch of convincing hip-hop- and R&B-influenced Timberlake-esque club pop.
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    42
    The Block bears no distinguishing marks aside from a compulsion for sex, sex, sex with a lover whose name, apparently, is Girl.
  5. Observer Music Monthly
    40
    Proficient and predictably salacious.
  6. Dot Music
    40
    Good or bad, everything here sounds like a lesser version of someone else.
  7. Sputnikmusic
    30
    Like "Red Carpet Massacre," The Block is proof that it requires more than the best producers and songwriters to make good pop music

See all 12 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 33
  3. Negative: 3 out of 33
  1. [Anonymous]
    Jun 12, 2009
    10
    This truly is a great album! A tremendous show of how they have matured and their music has as well. It's one great song after another. This truly is a great album! A tremendous show of how they have matured and their music has as well. It's one great song after another. I have tricked my husband & friends by making them hear the songs before telling them who it's performed by and every one of them loved what they heard!… Expand
  2. Tracy
    Oct 4, 2008
    10
    Unbelievable! Once a fan, always a fan. For all of those who sai they were a joke ans we were a joke...I guess we get the last laugh!
  4. HeatherD.
    Sep 6, 2008
    10
    This album is awesome.
  5. TiffanyR.
    Oct 28, 2008
    10
    This album rocks. I am addicted to it and I can't stop listening to it. The concert as wasesome as well. I love Dirty Dancing.
  6. MelanieM.
    Oct 20, 2008
    9
    I was an NKOTB fan back then and while I was a bit skeptical, I, as a 29 year old am falling in love all over again- with the music. I am no I was an NKOTB fan back then and while I was a bit skeptical, I, as a 29 year old am falling in love all over again- with the music. I am no longer a child and don't care for bubblegum pop! Had they delievered more of the same, I'd have been very disappointed. NKOTB have grown into men and they're singing to their core fan base- GROWN (SEXY) WOMEN! Summertime is a nostalic piece that is good for just that, but the best tracks are Grown Man, Big Girl, Click Click Click, Single, Full Service and 2 in the Morning. Hands down! Honestly though, even the fillers are solid tracks. I bet if you'd listened to the album not knowing who it was you'd have liked it. I did just that to a male friend of mine and he was shocked cause he was totally into it! Open your minds people!… Collapse
  7. RachelB.
    Oct 17, 2008
    8
    Being a big fan when I was 14 I was worried that the new album wouldn't stand up to my adult tastes. My worries were for not as the Being a big fan when I was 14 I was worried that the new album wouldn't stand up to my adult tastes. My worries were for not as the album is really good, i even have co-workers stopping in my office and asking who's playing on my laptp!!… Expand
  8. DirkDiggler
    Sep 4, 2008
    0
    I doubt the LA Times writer would agree to the 100 rating that MetaCritic assigned to his review. It was a 70 at best.

See all 33 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

54
#54 Most Discussed Album of 2008

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