The Wanted - The Wanted Review

Remember a time when America wasn't inundated with richly coiffed British boy bands promising sweet nothings over high-fructose dance beats? You know, the Pax Americana of around two months ago? Now, suddenly, battle lines are drawn between the reigning group One Direction and some new contenders. The Wanted, a slightly older and stubble-dipped riff on that formula, is making its U.S. album debut with this singles-compiling EP.

Though saucier and sleeker than its peers, the Wanted isn't nearly as fun. The trancey "Glad You Came" will surely bring the walls down on British package-tour holidays from Zagreb to Mykonos. But none of the guys has an especially charismatic -- or even distinguishable -- voice, and the song's production is drag-and-drop generic. "Chasing the Sun" makes the numbing thump of Tiesto sound incomparably nuanced.

For summer fun (which is the real point of this genre, no?), One Direction feels like a refreshing Pimm's cup compared with this....full text "The Wanted" is akin to "Meet the Beatles" in that it's a collection of popular UK singles culled from a couple of albums that never saw release in the US. As such, it's a pretty good mix of their strongest material. By now, everyone with a radio has heard "Glad You Came", and the rest of the album is a lot like that: a very good example of a certain kind of music that nobody ever thinks about from a critical standpoint.
The album is disposable in the best sense of the word. All 10 songs are perfectly constructed pop, sung with an effortless cool. To put that in perspective, it's exactly what grown-ups thought of The Beatles in 1964. I'm not arguing that "Chasing the Sun" is the equal of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", but the record is a lot of fun. Isn't that good enough?...full text Unlike the other boy bands currently part of a new teen idol resurgence, The Wanted’s solid brand of electro-pop transcends much of the typical boy band material to ensure its appeal beyond a teen demographic.

For example, the crunchy “Glad You Came,” which has reached into the top 4 of the Billboard Hot 100, fits in perfectly beside LMFAO or Maroon 5. It’s also the strongest track on “The Wanted,” out Tuesday, April 24. The 10-song set (in the deluxe edition; the standard is seven tracks) combines selected songs from the group’s first two albums released in their native U.K. Both “Glad You Came,” and Maroon 5-like “All Time Low” topped the British charts. ...full text The other English-Irish boy band to crash the States in 2012 is slyer than its apple-cheeked counterparts in One Direction, as evidenced by its demi-entendre hit "Glad You Came." But on this EP, the Wanted take cues from Coldplay ("Clocks"-style piano shows up on "Gold Forever") and Kings of Leon ("Use Somebody" moans swirl around "Lose My Mind") to no avail, and their dance pop droops where it should bounce. Playing the brooding type might get girls' attention, but it isn't fun to listen to.
...full text