<p>Pentatonix, “The Lucky Ones” (RCA Records)</p>
<p>There’s a new Pentatonix album, which leads to the question, “Didn’t we already have Christmas?” And the answer: Yes, this isn’t a Christmas set, despite the huge snowball on the album’s cover.</p>
<p>“The Lucky Ones” marks the group’s first full-length original album in six years. It’s extremely well produced, veering more to mainstream, radio-friendly pop than their self-titled debut album. It shows a maturing sound independent of Christmas and popular covers of such songs as “Jolene” and “Imagine.”</p>
<p>Members of the five-piece group — Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola and Matt Sallee — have a songwriting hand in every tune. Matthew Koma, who has worked with Zedd, helps write the majority of tunes.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, they’ve picked one of the weakest songs to kick off the album — the vapid single “Be My Eyes" — which has a skeleton of an Enya tune and a grating chorus. It sounds dated and dusty.</p>
<p>Much better are “A Little Space,” "Coffee in Bed" and “Side,” which could all be on a Justin Bieber album. “Happy Now” is exuberant fun and the title track is super, when the five voices thrillingly meld.</p>
<p>The album has many textures, from the intimate “It’s Different Now” to the soaring, arena-ready “Love Me When I Don’t” and “Never Gonna Cry Again.” It’s also nice to hear Maldonado increasingly take lead vocal duties.</p>
<p>One interesting thing about Pentatonix this time out is an increased distancing from what made them famous: that choral of a cappella voices, what they cheekily on “Bored” boast of being as “so in synch you’d think we were psychic.” </p>
<p>Much of “The Lucky Ones” follows a formula with a single dominant voice as a backbone and the five only combining softly in choruses, a big finish or in bridges. It’s fine, often excellent — just maybe not what you might expect from a Pentatonix album. </p>
<p>Think of it like a nice post-Christmas present. </p>
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<p>Mark Kennedy is at <a href="http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits">http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits</a></p>
