Backstreet's back all right, and they're all grown up. What else could explain Backstreet Boys A.J. McLean and Nick Carter smoking cigarettes and talking about their troubles, both past and present, as the band launches its first album in five years, Never Gone.

"My biggest vices these days are smoking and golf," joked the sunglasses-wearing McLean, 27, seated beside Carter, 25. McLean, decked out these days in tattoos, earrings, skull necklaces and black nail polish, spent time in and out of rehab previously for alcohol abuse, depression and anxiety, but he's been clean and sober for over 2 years.

"When you're in a such a tight-knit group for such a long period of time, you lose yourself, you really do, and I lost myself more than anybody because I ended up in rehab," said McLean. "But I got my feet back on the ground and I'm really anxious and looking forward to going back on the road again with a clear head."

The blond-streaked Carter was just busted in March of this year for driving under the influence in California. His most recent arrest followed a 2002 altercation at a Tampa nightclub that led to misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence.

"The way I can respond to everything that's happened to me is that I've grown up," said Carter. "I'm just trying to live my life. I'm trying not to make the same mistakes twice and, at the same time, have fun with what I'm doing and be safe at the same time and be responsible. But it's definitely hard to do that when you grow up in this business, because obviously it happened to A.J., and he got consumed in that. And I'm trying to learn as much as I can by myself and trying to make the right decisions at the right time."

Ultimately, the Backstreet Boys image doesn't drive their music careers to the same extent, nor do they have any expectations about how Never Gone will do in a musical landscape where hip-hop rules. Never Gone is a slick R&B-pop album with mature themes such as the aftermath of 9/11 (Weird World) and the death of a parent (title track).

"There are a lot of people in the media that don't want us back, there are a lot of people that do want us back, and the most important people that we have to be concerned with are our fans, that's it," said McLean. "We're not expecting to sell millions of records the first week out. Times have changed. Music has changed."

Backstreet Boys were the leaders of the squeaky-clean teen-pop boy band explosion of the mid-to-late '90s, collectively selling 73 million albums worldwide.

During their time apart, Carter was the only one to release a solo album and go on tour by himself. McLean got himself clean; Brian Littrell, 30, got married and had a child; Kevin Richardson, 33, got married, did a theatre role in Chicago, and started a production company; Howie Dorough, 31, worked with his Lupus foundation and on real estate.

But it was an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show by McLean — and the other four band members who turned up to surprise him — in 2003 that led to their decision to reunite.

"We had a talk, and we thought, ‘Hey, let's just get back in the studio and do this,' because we loved what we've done in the past, musically," said Carter.

Still, they say the biggest surprise has been the reception to their reunion so far — which includes a stop at the the Saddledome Sept. 5.

When they hit the red carpet at the MuchMusic Video Awards on June 26, they got the loudest screams.

"It was a very pleasant surprise," said McLean. "It was overwhelming, but at the same time, it was kind of reassuring. Because you don't know what to expect being out of the limelight for such a long period of time."