This Time Around (Island)

     I have a vision of the parking-lot scene at a 2034 Hanson concert.
Bootleg copies of the '02 tour are sold out of a van to the middle-aged
 women wearing vintage '90s platform sandals. Grizzled, with subtly
graying hair, the three bros take the stage. . . and it actually rocks.
 Hanson easily has the musical chops to become the future Phish,
Blues Traveler (John Popper provides snorty harmonica on this CD)
 or, with 20 more years of wisdom, even the Grateful Dead. The first
three songs have moved beyond the bubblegum "MMMBop" and are
first-class psychedelic spindance jammy-jams. And all over this disc,
 evidence of the brothers' excellent song-writing capabilities abounds.
 I just wish they'd skipped the fussy production (occasional
 scratches, drum loops and bleeps). But I'm sure they'll figure that out by 2034.