Pleasure and Pain

Riding an '80s backbeat and their own velvet harmonies, 112-R&B's answer to the pure-pop boy band-sails into Pleasure & Pain with "Let This Go," a hard-edged charmer that works equally well as pound-the-steering-wheel morning commute music or a sophisticated club jam. The rest of the disc follows suit, detouring here and there for ladies-only love songs ("Nowhere," "That's How Close We Are"), a soul interlude ("We Goin' Be Alright"), and sexy toe-dips into hip-hop ("If I Hit" featuring T.I. and "Closing the Club" featuring Three 6 Mafia). More than anything, this fifth album is a measure of the band's musical mettle: Instead of trading entirely on the 1996 sound that earned them a ride up the charts with "Only You," Q, Mike, Slim, and Daron work it out in a way that says they're as done with the last century as the rest of us. Best of all, that baby-don't-break-my-heart wail that could pay the boys' bills by itself works it's way into nearly every track.