Album review: Jonas Brothers, Happiness Begins

NZ Herald·

3 Jul, 2019 06:00 PM2 mins to read

Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas of Jonas Brothers. Photo / Getty Images

After 10 years and a break-up that threatened to pull apart their family, the Jonas Brothers did the impossible; they made a comeback - and a successful one at that.

Happiness Begins is their fifth studio album and their first united offering since 2009's Lines, Vines and Trying Times.

In that time, Nick Jonas launched a surprisingly successful R&B solo career and Joe Jonas served as the frontman of electro-pop group DNCE. Both those influences come through here as they lean into pure pop and a far more modern sound.

Sucker is by far the strongest track on the album, with its catchy-as-hell hook and sugary falsettos but it's not alone.

Here, the brothers pump out bubblegum pop hits laced with unlikely influences from reggae (Only Human, Every Single Time) to trap (Used to Be), while still throwing in that peak Jo-Bros sound and playfulness, as on tracks like Cool.

Of course, the play for radio hits doesn't always pay off as the experimental sounds don't always wash and songs like Strangers and Love Her start to sound generic, plus lyrically - given all they've been through - we could've (and should've) got a bit more substance out of them.

They touch on real life a little in tracks like the festival-ready closers Rollercoaster and Comeback but all too often songs are vague and lacking in any believable heart - a real shame given we already know their stories, we just need to hear them tell them.