Successful tween pop act pureNRG has their career on the fast track right now. With the release of A pureNRG Christmas, this marks their third release in less than two years. Along with this release come big expectations. Christmas music is often held to a higher standard, mainly due to the fact that from October through December, it's one of the main things we hear everywhere, from the mall to the radio. So the question is, where does pureNRG take their sound on this holiday collection?

Opening track "Joy to the World" is an extremely high energy, fast paced rendition, as are most of the tracks on pureNRG's Christmas effort. The same pattern continues with "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas." In fact, "Silent Night" proves to be the only slow track on the whole disc. The group's cover of Mariah Carey's explosive hit "All I Want For Christmas" is a nice break from the monotony of classics. Unfortunately, as many were probably hoping for, no maturity in sound has taken place between 2007's self-titled debut and now. Although specifically targeted at tweens and early teens, the music is on the borderline of being considerably over-produced. If pureNRG wants to maintain their audience, their sound needs to mature with their age, and it doesn't happen here. Another possible vulnerability is the lack of vocals from Jordan, the male member, while Caroline and Carolyne take control of most of the tracks.

To sum everything up, however, this is still a solid record and is definitely not a letdown. pureNRG continues to present themselves as huge contenders on the youth pop scene, and tweens are sure to be clamoring to get their hands on a copy of this album this holiday season. A fun record overall, fans will unquestionably be pleased with A pureNRG Christmas, and are bound to keep listening as their sound hopefully starts to advance.

- Review date: 9/21/08, written by Logan Leasure