Nothing to Lose [Deluxe Edition]

Photographer: Dove Shore.
Washington state-bred hip-hop/blue-eyed reggae/pop hybrid Emblem3 rose out of a series of performances on the 2012 season of musical competition show The X Factor. Though they didn't win first place on the show, the exposure got them signed to a major-label deal, and the sound of the band's debut, Nothing to Lose, is that of pure hyper-produced Top 40 pop, with booming beats, anthemic choruses, and walls of compressed sound supporting harmonies, hooks, and sometimes even slightly dancehall-informed scatting from brothers Wesley and Keaton Stromberg and their counterpart Drew Chadwick. Emblem3 update the boy band template for the early 2010s, meshing the laid-back acoustic influence of Jack Johnson with their enormous teen pop production and formulaic melodies on standout tracks like "Chloe (You're the One I Want)," the breezy watered-down reggae tinge of "Just for One Day," and the saxophone-aided "Sunset Blvd." ~ Fred Thomas