Nick Carter is back with his 4th solo album (fifth non Backstreet Boys album) “Love Life Tragedy”, which is his first one in over a decade. He had released five of the songs as singles before the album dropped and even had a tour (Who I Am) last year playing some of those with his own hits, his group’s hits and some covers. This album is a retrospective of his whole life from his childhood to his fame to his current love life and family. It’s a journey of his highs and lows in the spotlight. Alongside the new album, Nick is releasing a six-episode comic book-themed music video series.
It clearly shows throughout the album it is a pop-rock album with some very 80’s pop sounds and some 90’s boy band elements with the anthems and ballads. The album even went to No. 1 on the worldwide iTunes Album Chart, which Carter found surprising given that his focus was not on charting but on personal expression. The start to the album with “Made for us” is a good way to start this 80’s style synch-pop that suits his boy band style as it is a very good upbeat song. “Nothing without your love” keeps the 80’s going with this pop-love ballad but the fake music doesn’t help it. “Good Love” sounds like a song a boy band would do with some nice acoustic guitar but sounds too hip-hoppy. The song “Never Break my Heart again” is a typical boy band song about the bad side of love. It has some pop-rock to it but it’s not perfect and it’s been out for awhile so we are familiar with it.
This album takes some turns with country-pop which is not his game with these next three tracks as two were singles: “Superman” has been out for a while and is little cliché about being the famed hero as he tries to be there for his current family which he couldn’t do for his siblings; it is not a bad song just not his best. The song “Easy” features Jimmie Allen a country singer but has rap/hip-hop/bass which is too much. It is a very nice sentimental song about his family with acoustic guitar but there is another version without all of that, so why have this version/make a music video of the worse version? He then covered Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry” but sounds country with acoustic guitar not electric, just ok not great.
The three best songs with some released early in “Searchlight”, “Hurts to love you” and “Hey, Kid” really show off his writing and singing talents. He becomes retrospective about his life as a kid star pre boy band/during in “Hey, Kid” about saying sorry for all the stuff he had to endure to get to where he is today. He also has a song dedicated to late brother Aaron Carter who didn’t always make it easy to love him as the title is “Hurts to love you”, as that is a really emotional way to say goodbye to his brother. “Searchlight” is just one of the best songs as we all can see his group doing it together as it’s a good boy band song.
The last four songs seem like a different album as they are better than most of the songs on the album as they all are very emotionally raw quieter songs with less production ruining them and his vocals. “Wild Heart” sounds like an R&B boy band song that could be stripped of music for it to be an acapella song. While “Storms” and “Don’t let go” are nice sounding songs as the latter is more upbeat and this beat actually fits the song unlike others on this album. “Cold night” has two versions in which the arrangements are the only difference. It is a prototypical love song about being cold without her love with a cool guitar solo mixed in. Lastly, he re-recorded “Help Me” one of his first solo songs ever making it 80’s synch pop style, speeding it up to fit the album but will never be as good as the original.
In the end this is Nick Carter’s second best album behind his debut album “Now or Never”. No matter the amount of tragedy and good/bad love in his life, that this is a way for him to show everyone that he has made it through to the other side and is happy where he is right now.