Search - Immature :: Playtyme Is Over

Bubblegum-soul has been a staple of the R&B charts from the Jackson 5 through New Edition to the New Kids on the Block. Dominating the genre this year is Immature, the L.A. trio that scored a top-10 single with "Never Lie." Immature may well be one of the few bubblegum-soul groups to outlast adolescence because it has two important assets: a marvelous ballad singer in 13-year-old Marques Houston and a hook-savvy songwriter-producer in Chris Stokes. Deftly balancing sweet soul harmonies and hip-hop beats, the Immature album Playtime Is Over has pleasures beyond its hit single and rewards for listeners of all ages. Houston and his two bandmates, Jerome Jones and new addition Kelton Kessee, were only 12 when they recorded the album but they sound markedly more accomplished and sophisticated than they did on the group's '93 debut flop. The puppy-love innocence of songs like "Walk You Home" and "Summertime" is refreshing in the current R&B scene, but anyone who has ever had a romantic impulse will identify with the giddy infatuation of "I Don't Mind" and the new single, "Constantly." A few raps are sprinkled through the album, but the emphasis is clearly on romantic balladry, and the combination of Stokes's catchy melodies, the silky three-part harmonies, and Houston's relaxed, seductive leads proves irresistible. --Geoffrey Himes