The disc opens with “The Call,” which begins with a young man calling his girlfriend to tell her that he won’t be coming home tonight. In this anthem of a bad ass party animal, the Backstreet Boys tell a story of cheating and regret. This is in direct contrast to the message in “Shape Of My Heart,” a gushy love song that follows. And by the way, if one hasn’t noticed the teenybopper trend of changing keys in the chorus refrain to avoid repetitiveness, Black And Blue gives the trick away.

Following “Shape of My Heart” is “Get Another Boyfriend,” a super-catchy, high-energy track. This delivers a common message in the teen-pop world, advising the girl of interest that her current boyfriend is a jerk in comparison to, presumably, any of the Backstreet Boys. And if they haven’t delivered enough generic subject matter to make your stomach turn, they continue with “I Promise You,” a wedding song pledging eternal love and devotion. Yes, just like “This I Promise You” by *NSYNC, their primary competition.

And while it’s almost laughable how contrived this disc is, the music is still addictive and will undoubtedly carry them to multi-platinum sales. In Black And Blue, the Backstreet Boys reduce music to a science. Just as one can determine the force of a moving object, one can follow a simple formula for writing a major-selling hit. And if that isn’t depressing, I don’t know what is.