Boys will be Boys

The Backstreet Boys want to "grow" with their fans, lest they go the way of New Kids on the Block (more on them in a moment).

It's been three years since these five Florida hunks sparked a pop revolution. That's an eon when you're a teenager. The difference between 11 and 14 is like day and night - the difference, say, between Backstreet Boys and Marilyn Manson. Ask any parent.

In stores Tuesday, this album is the ultimate test. Have they grown? Yes and no. They're three years older and thus no longer "boys," but the formula remains the same.

As with the last two releases, Millennium comes in two flavours: Fizzy dance numbers and syrupy love ballads, perhaps a little heavier on the syrup this time.

Immaculately produced, as always, this is a perfectly innocuous pop confection. It's a hormone-charged load of cleverly written sweet nothings on the subject of - you guessed it - love, crooned alternately by Kevin, Nick, A.J., Brian or Nick. Pick your fave!

Music can be found amongst the marketing. The best ballad: the cloying but undeniably emotional Back to Your Heart. And the most interesting uptempo track is ironically the darkest: Don't Want You Back - a passionate break-up-and-good-riddance type of song. Sample lyric: "I should've known that I would be another victim of your sexuality." It stands out from the rest of this romantic fare like a goth kid in Disneyland.

Overall, Millennium is unashamedly contrived, expertly rendered and calculated to tug the heartstrings of every young girl in the world. In other words, Backstreet's back - with the same old song and dance.

Track Listing 1. Larger Than Life (3.52) 2. I Want It That Way (3.33) 3. Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely (3.54) 4. It's Gotta Be You (2.56) 5. I Need You Tonight (4.23) 6. Don't Want You Back (3.25) 7. Don't Wanna Lose You Now (3.54) 8. The One (3.46) 9. Back To Your Heart (4.21) 10. Spanish Eyes (3.53) 11. No One Else Comes Close (3.42) 12. The Perfect Fan (4.15)		Album rating