Jonas Brothers, 'A Little Bit Longer'

Backstory: Ask any girl under the age of 14 to explain the Jonas Brothers and, after she’s stopped squealing ecstatically, she’ll inform you that they’re, like, the awesomest band ever. She’ll probably also point out that they’re a.) actual brothers, b.) actually play their instruments and c.) write most of their own material, making them the least pre-fab of Disney’s many tween-pop juggernauts (see also: Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff, Cheetah Girls, etc.).

Why you should care: The 21st century hasn’t produced many full-blown music superstars, but the Jonas Brothers are a shining exception. Their shows sell out in seconds, their fans hang on every lyric and scrap of gossip, and their participation in Disney’s latest TV musical, “Camp Rock,” made the show and its soundtrack instant successes. So what’s all the fuss about?

Verdict: Take the crunchy power-pop of Fountains of Wayne (whose Adam Schlesinger wrote songs for the Jonas’ debut album), crank up the choruses into pure sugar-rush territory, and that, in a nutshell, is the Jonas Brothers. It’s like catnip to their target audience, but anyone who isn’t a reasonably well-adjusted, suburban, female pre-teen will probably find the peppy power chords and zippy guitars of songs like “BB Good,” “Burnin’ Up” and “Tonight” indistinguishable from one another. Only the playful acoustic number “Lovebug” really stands out, mainly because it’s the one track that hasn’t been over-produced to within an inch of its life.

X-Factor: The Jonas Brothers were originally signed to Columbia Records—who, in one of the music industry’s more spectacular recent blunders, made a half-hearted attempt to market the trio as a Christian pop band before dropping them after just one album. First edition copies of that album, “It’s About Time,” now fetch some serious coin on eBay.

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