RollingStone: Shout It Out
Jun 09, 2010 |
Lots of teen idols routinely make proclamations of independence but few actually follow through. Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson's fifth album since their 1997 breakthrough is entirely self-written and self-produced, and aside from some bass lines and horn riffs, it's all self-played. Having flexed their rock muscles on 2007's The Walk, the Hansons pump up the soul in their pop, stretching beyond the Jackson 5-isms of "MMMBop" to embrace Sixties Southern R&B. Most white guys who aim for Ray Charles end up like the Blues Brothers, but on effusive tracks like "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'," Tulsa's favorite siblings simply sound liberated.