Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 11/12/2002
There was a time when teen music meant
the Osmonds,
the Partridge Family, and
the DeFranco Family. That was back in the '70s; from the late '80s on, the music known as
teen pop has been influenced by
dance-pop,
hip-hop, and
urban contemporary. Teen popsters may not sound like they're from the 'hood, but they do combine
bubblegum pop with elements of music that comes from the 'hood. At first glance,
Vi3 might seem like just another photogenic "boy band" that is jumping on the
*NSYNC/
Backstreet Boys/
O-Town bandwagon. But those who give
Vi3's debut album,
So Tight, a serious listen will have to admit that the Chicago-based trio has more bite and substance than most of the CDs that came out of the
teen pop field in the early 2000s -- in fact, the material is respectable more often than not.
So Tight has its
bubblegum moments; the
ballads tend to be fluffy and lightweight. But on up-tempo jams like
"Go-Get-Her" and
"Hottie With a Body," the Windy City residents provide a surprisingly edgy blend of
dance-pop,
urban contemporary, and
hip-hop. While
So Tight is much poppier than
Bell Biv DeVoe -- one of the groups that
Vi3 claims as an influence -- the disc is definitely harder and grittier than 90 percent of the teen-oriented releases that came out in 2002. One of the CD's best tracks is the smooth
"Backstage Girl," which almost sounds like a blend of
blue-eyed soul, '70s
soft rock, and
hip-hop -- if you blended one of
Chicago's or
Orleans' more
R&B-ish '70s tunes with
hip-hop, it might sound something like
"Backstage Girl." So Tight isn't perfect; again, the
ballads tend to be bland and lightweight. But overall, this is a decent debut that
teen pop's detractors shouldn't be so quick to dismiss.
~Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
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