Introducing IMx

by John BushThe first album by the rejuvenated trio formerly known as Immature isn't a complete departure from their previous material. For the most part, IMx just keep on doing what they've been doing for almost ten years, spreading their light, soulful R&B harmonies over arrangements that slowly change with the times, just behind the latest developments in urban and hip-hop. So the stuttered beats and vocal fills that made Timbaland famous in 1997 are recycled here, over two years after their initial breakout. It's derivative and not very well done, and makes IMx rely on their voices and the songs themselves to carry the album. The tracks that work best do exactly that. The sweet ballad "In & Out of Love" goes for a more mainstream R&B production and focuses on letting IMx's harmonies shine. Unfortunately, songs like that are more the exceptions than the rule. Instead of gaining the trio a bit of credibility in hip-hop circles, Introducing IMx sounded immediately dated the day it came out, to say nothing of a year later.