I think I wanna stay single, maybe we're better apart

You can never know for sure how you're going to react to a song. I mean, yes, I would have probably predicted that the Backstreet Boys doing a song kind of like Chris Brown's "Forever" would win me over, but given that when the buzz around the Claude Kelly-penned "Bye Bye Love" started--up-tempo, possible single contender--I had hopes of a Backstreet song like "The Call" or "Get Another Boyfriend" (admittedly probably misplaced hope, but they're the songs I think of when I think of backstreet doing full-on uptempo well), the considerably gentler actual result could have felt like a let down. The lyrics may reject an old lover looking to restart the relationship--"see, I don't want a girl that only wanna comeback 'cause some other man broke her heart"--but the vocal melody and delivery is much more casual, less pressing and insistent; the song doesn't turn its rejection into a musical attack.



The point of all this is that "Bye Bye Love" doesn't have the attention-grabbing advantage of storming the pop barricades with all guns blazing, even if it does live up to the up-tempo promise in its "Forever"-reminiscent synths. As a result, on the first play, over poor speakers, I thought it was good but wouldn't have any sort of sticking quality.

I didn't know the way it would have me half-hopping, half-dancing around the kitchen a few minutes later, happily jumping from foot to foot and hip to hip as I listened to it for the second time. Or mumble-singing the chorus while doing summer cleaning a few listens later. Or returning to again and again.

A song like "Masquerade" has more presence, maybe calls out for attention more, but "Bye Bye Love" has me continuing to marvel how the group that hasn't made more than a handful of worthy songs over the past two albums seems to getting it right on more songs out of the candidates leaked in advance of their upcoming album than altogether over the last eight years.