This year has been a big one for Disney’s former stars. Artists like Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Nick Jonas and Selena Gomez have all been met with mainstream and sometimes critical success following their latest releases. For each, creating a sound and style that is reflective but entirely separate from their Disney days has come easily. Their ability to make music that is both relevant, innovative and emotive has turned these possible wash-ups into a new class of pop stars.

For some, however, this change does not come so easily. This is where we find Joe Jonas. At 26, Jonas’ career has undergone multiple shifts. From songwriting to acting, the former brother band member seems ailed by his position as a “creative” type. In an attempt to end this, Jonas’ latest endeavor as lead singer of the four-piece pop group DNCE comes at a time of hopeful transition. With the release of the group’s debut EP, their attempts to gain traction in the industry come with all of the baggage provided by Disney’s remnants.

Overall, “SWAAY” is an upbeat, satisfactory compilation of alternative pop music. However, through repeated listening sessions, the cracks surrounding DNCE’s debut become prevalent and noticeable. Their inability to create retention for the listener to hold on to their hooks is an obvious oversight. In one ear and out the other, “SWAAY” and DNCE’s sound is less recognizable than it could be. Like Walk The Moon, their music attempts to adopt this rising popularity in alternative, indie pop with lackluster results.

With the adoption of a slogan as presumptuous as “your new favorite band,” DNCE’s attempt at self-confidence is less able to fill such big shoes than the group realizes. This statement alone sets up a situation in which listeners will more than likely be left underwhelmed.

Lead track “Cake by the Ocean” is the perfect example of this shallowness. From its opening moments a sort of faux-slickness, both as a group and as a track, exists. This is a song that believes itself to be more of a danceable, edgy beat than it actually is. From its metaphorical use of cake and treats to the use of P. Diddy and Naomi Campbell’s 2002 relationship as a goal, a stench of a hipster’s overstated use of an outdated topic hangs over each of the track’s passing moments. Other tracks like “Pay My Rent” and “Toothbrush” play on a sense of mundane activity in an attempt to gain a sense of originality, but inevitably come up as off-putting.

While many artists like Selena Gomez or Demi Lovato have been able to separate themselves from their former days with the big mouse, DNCE’s Jonas never goes far enough to alter his corporate, industry-churned image. Lending itself in testament to Disney’s power of character construction, Jonas is unable to fully enhance this schism necessary to be taken seriously in the industry. Despite some profane language, the album sometimes borders Disney’s type of tween-pop that has become so characteristic to those sometimes unbreakable chains. That being said, moments of “SWAAY” are admittedly more entertaining than not.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5