Backstreet’s back with a boring album

If you’ve been a Backstreet Boys fan since “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart),” you’ll want to like this album. But while some songs are catchy, the group lacks the maturity they should have after 16 years together. 

As their seventh album and their second since Kevin Richardson left, “This Is Us” has all the Backstreet Boys elements – harmonies, love songs and dance-party-appropriate tunes – that worked in the past. And for some songs, like “Straight Through My Heart” and “All Your Life (You Need Love),” the formula still gets results. 

But other factors of this album make it hard to listen all the way through with a straight face. Some of the songs, like “PDA,” sound like the lyrics were written for the boys in their early 20s, instead of their 30s. There comes a time when you’re too old to use the word “booty.”

So for those who still have that Millennium Tour t-shirt, spend your $9.99. For everyone else: save it. If you were ever a fan of ’90s boy-band pop, you’re probably over it now.