Human Nature
Human Nature
(Columbia)
There is an almost instinctive prejudice among music lovers over the age of 19 to dismiss manufactured albums such as this, the Australian boy band's third.
It is easy to do. Squeaky-clean pop lyrics homogenised to suit sweet young teens, synthesised R&B sounds pasteurised to flavourless perfection - all packaged with the cardboard cut-outs that are our heroes. A bit like a carton of milk, minus the nutritional goodness.
But it would be unfair to dismiss the Sydney quartet as just another low-fat, high-calcium product. Their names are Andrew and Michael Tierney, Phil Burton and Toby Allen, and they travelled half the globe, enlisting some of Europe's top chart-making production lines to put together their latest offering.
There's UK Steelworks, who have worked with the Spice Girls, Celine Dion and 5ive, ex-Take That singer Gary Barlow, and Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys collaborators Cheiron Studios. A fine Top Of The Pops pedigree.
Yet, despite the bloodlines, or indeed because of them, Human Nature lack distinctive characteristics of their own. They're awash with influences but fail to stamp an individual trademark on the band.
A couple of tracks, including the first single He Don't Love You, should make the charts but the lads must ask themselves how long they can survive as just another boy band.
It's a shame that Human Nature haven't chosen to, if not break away from the milk-carton approach to the R&B formula, at least introduce a new flavour.
