I can think of around 47 things I’d rather do than listen to the new Backstreet Boys album; they’re not weird nasty things, like consuming faeces or getting punched in the eye, but pleasant things, like cooking a meal for three close friends or spending a little bit more money on socks than I usually do.

Backstreet BoysBackstreet Boys performing in London for Pride

Backstreet Boys aren’t a bad band, they’re just not to my taste – so to speak – but according to the critics, maybe I should turn around, put my preconceptions away in a little box (little box suggests I have little to no preconceptions, which is good) and give ‘In a World Like This’ a right good listen.

Reviews like, “The Backstreet Boys adopt a streamlined -dare we say mature - sound on their eighth album,” from Entertainment Weekly, and “Perhaps there are moments where texture trumps composition, but overall In a World Like This is a surprisingly mature and fine record from a former boy band that seems unafraid to act its age," from All Music Guide, make me want to at least stream half of one of their songs.

However, The Guardian’s review, which goes something like: “Longtime songwriter Max Martin has cooked up a title track that ranks as one of the blandest songs of his career.... Most of the first half carries on in this fashion, with the exception of the strummy anti-bullying ballad Madeleine, a showcase for AJ McLean's sweet voice. The second half is more interesting, making more of their spot-on vocal harmonies,” makes me want to start planning that meal – I was thinking maybe Coq au vin?

Check out The Backstreet Boys' new single, In a world Like This