Country Music Goes Backstreet with Marshall Dyllon

Marshall Dyllon
"Enjoy the Ride"
Dreamcatcher Records
(released Dec. 5)

By Mary Jo DiLonardo
Special to CNN Interactive

(CNN) -- Heaven knows, there are enough boy bands on earth. With 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees battling it out for the teen fans, it was only natural that country music would cash in on the cute-boys-with-slick-harmonies bandwagon.

Meet Marshall Dyllon, the first group signed to Kenny Rogers' Dreamcatcher Records independent label. Like its Top 40 counterparts, this group also features five young, attractive guys offering catchy songs with five-part harmonies.

It's no surprise that Lou Pearlman, the "mastermind" behind the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, is involved.

AUDIO 'Live It Up' WAV sound 'She's Like A Child' WAV sound 'Enjoy the Ride' WAV sound     MORE REVIEWS Read our latest reviews: Tyler England, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, more...

The good news -- for the country audience, at least -- is that the quintet has a fresh sound. Add some fiddle and steel guitar and some decent songs written by well-respected Nashville songwriters, and there could be some hits here.

If anything, the music should appeal to the young listeners of country music who adore the tight pop-flavored harmonies of girl group SHeDAISY.

"Live it Up," the group's first single, is a spirited song from Phil Vassar, one of Nashville's hottest songwriters, whose had recent success performing his own hits, "Carlene" and "Just Another Day in Paradise."

It's typical of the rest of the disc's music -- predominantly upbeat, lively stuff featuring lots of harmony and toe-tapping rhythms. The vocal arrangements are clever and fun with crisp production and no heavy instrumentation.

It's no coincidence that the band sounds like it could've easily slipped over from the world of pop music; some of its members did.

Paul Martin, a lead singer, is an alumnus "Making the Band" an ABC show that followed the real-life travails of a boy band Pearlman created. That group, the O-Town Boys, has released a single with an album due out in January.

Pearlman was chatting with pal Kenny Rogers one day about an empty niche in country music that could be filled by younger bands. So Pearlman went to work putting together a band. He persuaded Martin to forgo a future with O-Town, recruited his younger brother, Michael Martin, signed Jesse Littleton (who also auditioned for O-Town) and found a few other guys. Voila! A country boy band was born.

The guys are young, 17 to 22. In fact, when a member's father suggested "Marshal Dillon" as a name for the group, none had an inkling who the "Gunsmoke" character was.

The guys, performing under a slightly revised name, alternate singing lead vocals. One, Todd Sansom, does the intricate vocal arrangements for the group.

Unlike Backstreet Boys, O-Town and the rest, there's no choreography for these guys. They even poke fun at dancing in their debut video for "Live It Up": The five attempt a few 'N Sync-like dance moves, give up, laugh and walk away. Clearly, the vocals are the thing here.

For proof, the record offers a nice hidden bonus cut -- a soaring a cappella rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" that proves these pretty cowboys can really harmonize.

If nothing else, they should be a hot commodity at baseball games.

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http://www.marshalldyllon.com/

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