Record Rewind 2.0

  While my favorite Jonas Brothers album has always been their self-titled album, rewatching their Prime Video documentary “Chasing Happiness” for the fourth time made me really consider the deeper layers to the lyricism and musicianship on display. Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas started out performing as young kids, singing and acting on Broadway and commercials. As the Jonas Brothers, they signed to Columbia Records and released their first album with them, “It’s About Time,” in 2006. But their slowly growing fame became detrimental to the Jonas family’s livelihood. Their father, Kevin Jonas Sr., was scrutinized at the church he was a pastor at for his sons’ secular practices. In addition, touring costs and medical bills for Nick, who had been diagnosed with diabetes, caused him to max out his credit cards. According to Kevin Sr., he informed the brothers one night that he would resign from the church, meaning the family would lose their home, and that Columbia had dropped them....

  The Backstreet Boys are gearing up for the 25th anniversary of their landmark album “Millennium.” While I plan to properly review that album closer to its actual release day, I figure now is a good time to cover what I think is their second best album. Picture this: it’s 2006 and you’re the four remaining Backstreet Boys; AJ McLean, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and Brian Littrell. You took a four-year hiatus from anything boy band-related before returning with an intended “big” comeback album. But that album, “Never Gone,” veered too far from your classic dance-pop sound that it flailed, and now one of your bandmates, Kevin Richardson, has left to pursue solo ventures. What do you do? You return to the studio and to your roots, but with a slightly different, more personal approach. Out comes “Unbreakable,” the Backstreet Boys’ sixth album released on Oct. 30, 2007. With this album, the boys wanted to combine the teen pop sound they cut their teeth on with a more grown-up pop ...

After breaking into the mainstream in 2005, Panic! at the Disco have been held up as one of the most iconic emo bands and a core piece of the “Emo Trinity,” along with their contemporaries Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance. This sentiment is not without merit, as evidenced by their strong debut album. Panic! started in Las Vegas in 2004 as a blink-182 cover band led by guitarist and songwriter Ryan Ross and drummer Spencer Smith, who attended high school together. Ross started out as primary vocalist, but after recruiting Brendon Urie and bassist Brent Wilson, it was decided that Urie would be the frontman. Eventually they got the attention of Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz and were signed to Decaydance Records, despite having never performed live. The next year, and after four months of recording, the band released “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” on Sept. 27, 2005. Almost 20 years later, it still holds up as a great piece of pop punk culture. Following an intro that mimics turning t...

  Before Adam Young sang about seeing 10 million fireflies as Owl City, indietronica’s poster band was The Postal Service, a supergroup consisting of lead singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello and backing vocalist Jenny Lewis. The group was short-lived; they knew to strike while the iron was hot and burn bright before quickly going out on their own terms. Their only studio album to date is “Give Up,” released on Feb. 18, 2003. Opener “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” starts out with glitchy electronic instrumentation as Gibbard sings about a dying relationship where he is at fault. But as the song progresses, it becomes more rhythmic and upbeat as Gibbard starts to realize that his partner deserves better than him. He resigns himself to being a lonely stranger as the song ends. “Such Great Heights” contrasts twinkly beats with low bass and sharp percussion, perfectly evoking feelings of falling in love. The lyrics use compelling imagery, like shaped clay and answering ma...