Though Joe Jonas’ schoolboy good looks made him one of the most popular members of the Jonas Brothers trio, his solo debut hides his boy band image with dubstep beats, mature lyrics and a guest appearance by rapper Lil’ Wayne.
Joe Jonas’s first album, “Fastlife,” features instrumentals that distract the listener from the song itself. High-energy dance beats with explosive bass overshadow balled-like lyrics such as, “I know how you feel when you put your hand in mine,” and make Joe Jonas new sound seem disorganized and uninviting.
By releasing more provocative lyrics than those he sang in the Jonas Brothers, Joe Jonas alienates the pre-teen fan group that helped make him so successful. His lyrics focus on “living on the wild side,” being attracted to “poisonous” girls and love being better when it’s crazy. This, along with Wayne’s explicit guest appearance on “Just in Love,” makes Jonas’s tracks inappropriate for his fawning fans that first knew the band from “Camp Rock.” Jonas Brothers enthusiasts expecting sugarcoated lyrics like those in “Lovebug,” the group’s 2008 single, will be disappointed by this more hard-core album.
The Joe Jonas may have been “burning up” a few years ago, but Joe Jonas’s inaugural solo album barely sizzles and proves he may be trying to grow up too fast.