With trends changing ever more rapidly, the forces behind took action: just ten months after the release of their debut , the inevitably named follow-up arrived. However, in a misguided attempt to make the group's prefab sound more mature, ditched their debut's fun, bouncy style in favor of by-the-numbers and a forced eclecticism, both of which muddied 's sound instead of expanding it. Though their songs were never as recognizable as , , or 's, 's cheerful, more innocent style at least set them apart from the rest of the B-list. But by adopting the poses of the style's bigger stars -- as on the -esque and the boy-band-lite -- ends up sounding more faceless than before. Anonymous like and emphasize the fact that the group's voices aren't as strong or interesting as those of 's stars; the would-be (thankfully, not a cover of ' classic) confirm just how thin the septet's pipes are. Worse, 's first half never settles into a comfortable groove. Instead, the album skips from 's fusion of sugary , and to a lite version of that whitewashes everything about the style, down to the syncopated, -style beats. Wanting to showcase the band's range is understandable, but the disappointing results only prove how little they grew in the ten months between their first and second albums. However, doesn't completely dispose of 's fun, carefree sound: is a brassy update of 's charm, while is a slick confection that proves that the group's vocals can have some oomph to them. reaches all the way back to for its fluffy inspiration, and despite its awkward title, is a shiny trifle that sounds like or could've sung it back in the day. Though 's fans will undoubtedly gobble up as eagerly as they did , some of them may notice that this time around, the group's candy-coated is considerably blander. ~ Heather Phares