...but I'll have to agree with the critics on this one. As much as I love the Backstreet Boys and wanted to like this album (believe me, I really tried), I have to say that I was really disappointed. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for a (boy) band like BSB to make a comeback after a 5-year hiatus : having to reinvent yourself, conquer a new audience while being careful not to alienate the old one... But I feel the problem is just that : they weren't able to reinvent themselves. Instead, they kept the same kind of mushy lyrics (I really thought they were past the "I-can't-live-without-you-please-give-me-one-more-chance stage")but incorporated them in a music that seems designed only to fit the current soundscape (Weird World is a carbon copy of Coldplay). Which is really sad, because Incomplete was really promising. But Never Gone simply doesn't feel like the glorious comeback it should be. Instead, it shows the guys' vulnerability, their fear of taking the risk to push the envelope and surprise people, fans and critics alike. We know they've grown up, but it's as if they were afraid to show it. When they were making bubble-gum pop, at least they had a carved a sound of their own, which was later copied by Britney, Nsync and all the boybands that followed. But this time around, unfortunately, they're the ones copying the others. And it's truly a shame.