Hanson is a real boy band--and if that sounds like an insult, then
                       you're starting to understand the challenge facing the pop trio as it
                       mounts a comeback from "Middle of Nowhere."

                       In 1997, the three Hanson brothers of Oklahoma were at the forefront
                       of a wave of youth pop that reshaped the music industry. Their debut
                       album, "Middle of Nowhere," and its deliriously catchy hit,
                       "MMMBop," paved the way for the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, 98
                       Degrees and all the other cute guy acts that have since pounced on
                       the free-spending teen market.

                       But the mega-selling groups that followed Hanson are pinups of a
                       different stripe, and in 2000 youth pop is defined by slick harmonies
                       and flashy choreography. The music is layered dance-pop and the
                       concerts and music videos are about as austere as a James Bond
                       film. The Backstreeters and 'N Sync are called "boy bands," but they
                       don't play instruments and they rarely write their songs.

                       And Hanson? Their upcoming album on Island/Def Jam, "This Time
                       Around," is rock-leaning pop, with their trademark sugary vocals
                       leavened by a healthy dose of guitars. They don't dance on stage
                       because they're busy playing instruments. And instead of enlisting a
                       platoon of Swedish producers and writers, these guys huddle around
                       the house and pen their own lyrics. They also co-produced the new
                       album.

                       The question is whether those differences are a strength for Hanson
                       or simply a recipe for becoming the pop world's youngest antiques.
                       "Things are dramatically different; [it's] changed a lot in the past three
                       years," says oldest brother Isaac Hanson, a music industry veteran
                       at the ripe old age of 19. "We don't know what to expect. It's also
                       very true that it's hard to have a career these days. It's a very fickle
                       market. You don't see bands that have albums one after the other be
                       successful."

                       The blond brothers--the other two are 18-year-old Taylor and
                       15-year-old Zac--have changed since they stepped away from the
                       spotlight two years ago, and not just by growing taller. Their new
                       clothes and hairstyles suggest a bid to be seen as a bit edgier, and
                       their handlers hope the time away might diffuse some of the backlash
                       that greeted their cherubic images after "MMMBop" hit No. 1 in 27
                       countries.

                       "Most people only heard 'MMMBop,' not the whole album, and a lot of
                       them didn't listen to the words, because, you know, it's a really
                       serious song," Zac says in a tone that is more reflective than
                       defensive. "This album is much harder than 'MMMBop.' It's an
                       evolution of our sound."

                       In informal market testing, Island/Def Jam reportedly played some of
                       the new songs for listeners without telling them who was performing,
                       which may suggest a degree of hope that Hanson can both build on
                       its past success and escape it. Sure, "MMMBop" was named the
                       best single of 1997 in the Village Voice poll of the nation's music
                       critics, but the group was also routinely roasted by comedians and
                       rock musicians as unchewable bubble gum.

                       Their music was also so of-the-moment that many industry observers
                       were quick to announce their time was done, especially after their
                       "Live From Albertane" concert collection tanked in 1998.

                       The group itself has taken other steps to change its image with some
                       intriguing partnerships, such as their gigs in New York with Grateful
                       Dead member Bob Weir and their new Internet venture with David
                       Bowie's UltraStar company. "That was cool, jamming with Bob," Zac
                       says. "Really cool."

                       MTV Plans to Give the Band a Lot of Exposure

                       The lead single from the album, the title track, hit radio in February;
                       although it hasn't been a huge hit, it has been picked up by 115
                       stations nationwide and just went on sale Tuesday as a commercial
                       single. The album arrives May 9, and MTV is gearing up to give the
                       band a lot of exposure, a promising sign because the network is
                       perhaps the most powerful taste maker for young fans.

                       "The fact that they got haircuts or changed their look, that's not as
                       important as the fact that it's a strong record and the single is a
                       strong single," says Tom Calderone, MTV's senior vice president of
                       music and talent. "They always wrote great rock-pop songs, and
                       these are a little more rock."

                       Taylor says the new sound is a reflection of the brothers' changing
                       musical tastes, which include Beck, Train, the Red Hot Chili Peppers
                       and "Sheryl Crow, the Counting Crows, the Black Crowes--all of the
                       crows."

                       The album finds its edge in its rootsy guitars--especially on three
                       tracks featuring another youthful star, blues player Jonny Lang--but
                       also has softer moments with keyboards and a gospel choir. John
                       Popper of Blues Traveler and DJ Swamp from Beck's band also make
                       guest turns.

                       Without the glossy, prefabricated vibe that surrounds most of today's
                       youth pop acts, Hanson is "self-contained, very inner-directed," says
                       Danny Goldberg, ex-chief of Mercury Records, Hanson's former label.

                       "They were not people who had any type of real grasp of the context
                       they were in," says Goldberg, who now runs the independent label
                       Artemis. "When we did their first video, we couldn't find the language
                       to talk to them with because they had never watched MTV. . . They
                       were counterintuitive to pop, which is often this manufactured,
                       calculated genre."

                       Indeed, today's pop seems to involve more calculations than a NASA
                       shuttle launch. Hanson's first success came at a time when youth
                       pop was off the radar, but can they repeat it in a scene cluttered with
                       MTV-ready cute guys?

                       "It's hard to tell," Goldberg says. "The pie's a lot bigger now, but
                       there are also a lot more competitors."

                       Watching 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys break records with their
                       sales to former Hanson fans must be a bit unsettling. Have the
                       brothers considered putting down their guitars and trying some dance
                       moves just in case?

                       "No, no," Isaac says, "I don't think so. You wouldn't want to see us
                       dance. Nobody does."

                       * * * "Things are dramatically different; [it's] changed a lot in the past
                       three years. We don't know what to expect. It's also very true that it's
                       hard to have a career these days. It's a very fickle market."
                       ISAAC HANSON