Riding an '80s backbeat and their own velvet harmonies, 112—R&B's answer to the pure-pop boy band—sails into Pleasure & Pain with "Let This Go," a hard-edged charmer that works equally well as pound-the-steering-wheel morning commute music or a sophisticated club jam. The rest of the disc follows suit, detouring here and there for ladies-only love songs ("Nowhere," "That's How Close We Are"), a soul interlude ("We Goin' Be Alright"), and sexy toe-dips into hip-hop ("If I Hit" featuring T.I. and "Closing the Club" featuring Three 6 Mafia). More than anything, this fifth album is a measure of the band's musical mettle: Instead of trading entirely on the 1996 sound that earned them a ride up the charts with "Only You," Q, Mike, Slim, and Daron work it out in a way that says they're as done with the last century as the rest of us. Best of all, that baby-don't-break-my-heart wail that could pay the boys' bills by itself works its way into nearly every track.--Tammy La Gorce

One-time P. Diddy protégés One Twelve (as the CD packaging spells it) take several chances to tout their current alignment with Def Jam on their fourth album, Hot & Wet. For the most part, though, the quartet sticks to business over boasts--and the job, of course, is rockin' and freakin' your body all night long. The emphasis is on romance, even when guest Ludacris promises to "make you do things you ain't even know you could do" on two mixes of the title song. A better than average seduction disc, Hot changes up its rhythms enough to allow even for casual daylight listening; check the requisite dancehall number, "Na Na Na Na" (featuring toasting by Super Cat) and the mildly electro-influenced "Give it to Me." Fine singing completes the package. --Rickey Wright

Pleasure & Pain (Clean)

Aussie single taken from the hit urban act's third album, the 2001 release 'Part III'. Includes four versions of 'Peaches & Creme' (Remix-Radio Mix Feat. P. Diddy, Remix Feat. Ludacris, Remix Without Rap & Radio Mix plus 'Dance With Me' (Radio Mix).