Get With Me

The five young men who make up 3rd Storee specialize in contemporary R&B with a romantic bent. On the face of it, not exactly a singular pursuit, but GET WITH ME manages to repeatedly distinguish itself from the admittedly fierce competition. For example, the exhortatory "Clap Your Hands" has all the hookiness of a Sisqo tune and the production smarts of an Outkast track. The arrangement on "Now I Can Breathe" bears an inventiveness to rival the freshest Timbaland production, all in the support of group vocal harmonies that could give Take 6 a run for their money. "Superstar"s attitude-laden delivery is turbo-charged by distorted heavy-rock guitar riffs that rub shoulders with thumping hip-hop production. It's this kind of syncretism that lends 3rd Storee a distinctive sound, which is pretty much the key to the kingdom in the modern R&B game.