For all the things that former
Jonas Brother and Disney kid
Joe Jonas could have done after the breakup of his teen-centric sibling band in 2013, forming a flamboyant dance-rock and disco-ready band like
DNCE was clearly one of the more unexpected, inspired, and welcome choices. Rather than just another vehicle for
Jonas to package his crisp, soulful vocals and good looks (though, make no mistake, showcasing
Jonas is the main directive here),
DNCE feels like an organic ensemble of like-minded weirdos. Part of
Jonas' pop coup d'etat was picking the right bandmates for
DNCE, conscripting onetime
Jonas Brothers touring musicians like the captivatingly talented South Korean guitarist JinJoo Lee (
Jordin Sparks,
Charli XCX,
Cee Lo Green) and rock-and-funk-ready drummer
Jack Lawless (
Demi Lovato,
Miley Cyrus), as well as swashbucklingly rococo former
Semi Precious Weapons bassist/keyboardist
Cole Whittle. Together, they present like a Fraggle Rock version of
Maroon 5, a motley crew of club-stamped superheroes banded together to fight corporate pop boredom and mediocrity. Of course, with
Jonas at the helm, they also sound a lot like another teen idol turned legit pop threat:
Justin Timberlake. That said, it's a positive comparison and speaks to
Jonas' continued maturation from the flat-ironed mullet of his
Camp Rock days to his saucy, dyed-blonde pomp and swagger in
DNCE. It's a process the public first glimpsed on his unabashedly pop-friendly 2011 solo debut,
Fastlife, and one he takes to fruition here. Working with a handful of in-demand yet still savvily hip production luminaries including Sir Nolan,
Ilya, and
Mattman & Robin, as well as
Semi Precious Weapons frontman turned pop songwriting giant
Justin Tranter,
Jonas and
DNCE have crafted an album of buoyant, dance-oriented pop that straddles the lines between '80s-style new wave dance-rock ("Naked"), groove-oriented '70s disco-soul ("Be Mean"), and Sugar Ray-esque '90s alt-pop mélange ("Good Day"). Cuts like the euphorically catchy "Body Moves," the equally hooky "Toothbrush," and the ubiquitous 2015 hit single "Cake by the Ocean" are legit party anthems, steeped in twentysomething sexual longing and laddish confidence that make the album more than worthy of the one-drink minimum. Surprisingly,
Jonas even makes room for several heartfelt, earnestly delivered ballads including "Almost" and falsetto-heavy "Truthfully," which sounds something like British boy band
Take That doing an off-the-cuff cover of
Extreme's "More Than Words." It's just that sort of stylistically open-minded approach to pop that makes
DNCE such a joyous and undeniably fun album.
Jonas has developed into a deeply self-aware and confident performer whose brightly hued and clever musical taste is on display throughout
DNCE. Ultimately, if
Joe Jonas grew up spending his adolescence plastered across the walls of teen pop fans worldwide, then, like it or not,
DNCE is just the kind of album to put him back on the walls of those same fans who've grown up with him. ~ Matt Collar