Do you know any Hanson girls?

No, I'm not talking about Taylor, although if Family Guy hadn't totally clobbered that particular joke a couple years back I might've given it a shot right here (We used to think he looked a bit feminine, is the thing). I mean these girls who, ever since the first time they heard that sweet, sweet "MMMBop," couldn't get enough Hanson. Do you know any of those?

I do. They sure do love Hanson.

As a male, the appeal of Hanson has always been fairly lost on me. I like "Where's the Love" and everything, but how The Dust Brothers went from Odelay to Hanson, I'll never know.

The boys have always harmonized like the roof's caving in, so I've rarely really been able to tell what they're saying (although when the chorus of your first hit contains the phrase "ba duba dop ba do bop," you're probably not that concerned with things like lyrics). Take out the "OMG they're soooo cute" factor, and there's not much separating Hanson from, I dunno, Kids Incorporated. Remember that show? Man.

Anyway. Hanson put out Middle of Nowhere in 1997. Then boy bands happened. But those Hanson brothers are persistent sorts, and after a couple of years ducking the Nick Carters of the world, they came back surprisingly strong with This Time Around. The earth didn't exactly move like the first time we saw Zac on rollerblades, but Hanson fans got a fix, and life was good. And now, four years on, there's Underneath. Fix anew.

If I'm reviewing Hanson like I'd never heard of them before, I have to say this: Underneath might just be the most incredibly unobtrusive album ever. A little acoustic guitar, a whole lotta major chords and three completely homogenous voices in unison (they are brothers, after all), and you're practically comatose. Whoever this Hanson is, they'll lull you into quite a blissed-out stupor if you let 'em.

But I can't review them like I've never heard them before, because it's Hanson.

I really sort of like the song "Penny & Me," but it's no "MMMBop." And "Misery" is good, too, showing that somebody named Hanson's been studying Jeff Buckley pretty closely. When Underneath gets moody, it springs to life a little bit. But Isaac and company didn't make millions doing Sabbath covers, and I guess I shouldn't expect them to go with anything but what works. So Underneath, then, is pure sunshine pop music. Which is OK.

Hanson's smart. Those guys are set for life, really. After "MMMBop," all those three have to do is put out a record under the Hanson name every couple of years, transfer a few funds from the ol' fanbase, and they get to eat.

And, hey, even if the group's core audience moves on to something a little more risqué like, I dunno, Jump Little Children or something, they'll still always come running back to the brothers they could never leave. Underneath feels like a stopgap, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that the Hanson girls aren't going to care much.

It'd just be nice, I guess, if Hanson'd make some music that didn't seem to cater only to the band's fanbase. I really do think there's some talent here, and it's too bad Hanson hasn't turned into the really cool power pop group I think it might be capable of becoming. Underneath's just got nothing for anybody but a Hanson girl to latch onto.

So yeah. Hanson. OMG.