Music
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Jonas Brothers
Inside the pop-rock trio’s cool new album, Happiness Begins.
Happiness begins now… Jonas Brothers are back and cooler than ever.
Releasing their fifth album, Happiness Begins – their first release since 2013’s live album LiVe and their first studio album since 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times, pop-rock trio Joe, Nick and Kevin have matured both in age and musical style.
Executive produced by One Republic vocalist turned super-producer Ryan Tedder, Happiness Begins features the band’s comeback and first No.1 song Sucker, released back in March.
It’s pop at its most pure – fans who loved them the first time around will be pleased to know the former Disney stars have grown up right along with them. It’s catchy and self-assured – also inviting a whole new fan base into the fold – delving into ’80s new wave, RnB, country and reggae styles.
Earlier this month, the brothers also released Chasing Happiness on Amazon Prime – a tell-all documentary full of new and unseen footage detailing their childhood in New Jersey, their rise to fame, their 2013 break-up and their recent reformation, which lead to their latest album.
The new tracks are raw and personal. I Believe – a synth-heavy slow jam delivered with cool confidence, alludes to Nick’s whirlwind romance with wife Priyanka Chopra. While Hesitate is Joe’s love letter to Sansa Stark herself, Sophie Turner, whom he married earlier this year in Vegas.
Second single Cool stands out as a timely, chilled-out pop tune which casually namechecks screen legends Jane Fonda and James Dean, as well as Game of Thrones and Post Malone.
Only Human and Every Single Time are layered with reggae beats, while Happy When I’m Sad edges towards pop-punk – straddling the line between Simple Creatures’ pop-rock and something from a One Direction record.
Strangers enters the ring to be the catchiest banger on the record, while Trust dips a toe into RnB melodies. There’s some nice ballads too in the form of Used to Be and album closer Comeback.
Whether you’re a sucker for a reunion, or just down for some cool summer jams, Jonas Brothers’ highly anticipated release more than delivers – it’s almost like they never left.
See Jonas Brothers live across UK arenas in February 2020. [Find tickets]
Tracklisting:
1. Sucker
2. Cool
3. Only Human
4. I Believe
5. Used to Be
6. Every Single Time
7. Don’t Throw It Away
8. Love Her
9. Happy When I’m Sad
10. Trust
11. Strangers
12. Hesitate
13. Rollercoaster
14.Comeback
Listen to Happiness Begins on Spotify:
