Boy band The Wanted’s new album, “Word of Mouth,” is best described as definitively OK. The menagerie of archetypal heartthrobs have undeniably talented voices, which are thankfully unmarred by a slather of autotune. However, save one or two songs, the album is largely forgettable.
In the shadow of its radio hit “Glad You Came,” The Wanted kicks off with the party anthem “We Own the Night,” a tribute to drinking, dancing and staying forever young. Spattered bits of simplistic piano are mixed in, a recurring theme throughout the album that, alongside a small string ensemble, brings contrast to the synth and manufactured beats.
The lyrical variety, however, is tremendously smaller. All 11 songs after “We Own the Night” are about typical fantasy love. One song blends into another as the effusive quintet manages to sing relentlessly about love. The outlier is “Walks Like Rihanna,” which has lyrics that are both vaguely insulting and confusing: “She can’t sing, she can’t dance. But who cares, she walks like Rihanna.”
“Word of Mouth” is perfectly functional as a boy-band album. Fans of The Wanted will undoubtedly enjoy this just as much as the previous two, if not just for the sake of new content. However, it lacks something definitive, something special. It will sell, it will play on the radios, and it will soon be replaced by the next chart-topping boy-band sensation.
