Constantly
being in the media these days with basically everything you could
think of, it's hard to not notice that these four Australian guys
just released their sophomore record.
5 Seconds of
Summer have been in the talk of basically everybody, no matter good
or bad. Getting stamped off as a boy-band early in the days due to
them doing several tours with One Direction. Quite frankly, it didn't
shine the best light on them for a certain amount of time, but their
latest release will show you the opposite once you plug it in your
headphones to give it a chance.
All of the
songs sound absolutely massive and a major reason for that is
probably how the whole thing got produced by big names such as John
Feldmann (Goldfinger), who has previously been a huge influence on record to bands
such as All Time Low and The Used.
Having the
support of not only him and ATL, but also other artists such as Good
Charlotte, State Champs, Fall Out Boy and many others who have voiced their
approval of them has helped them to gain a certain level of
appreciation among other artists. GC being also massively involved in
the recording of Sounds Good Feels Good is something you can
definitely hear in many parts of it all.
Generally
speaking, there are a lot of different factors why those guys have
evolved so much considering song writing, lyrics, stage performance
and general movement in the business.
Those guys
know how grand their following of young (female) fans is and instead
of continuing to write about only 'girl meets boy' stories, as they
did for the most part on their debut, they actually use the power
they have over their crowd.
By
approaching subjects such as parental divorce, mental health issues
and loneliness, they show that it's okay to not be okay. Having grown
up and being discovered in the new age, they know what this
generation is currently going through, being part of it themselves.
Gaining their first fame through YouTube and having such a widespread
social media accessibility, they know what it is like to get ripped
apart on the web by millions of other people from a very young age
on.
We've all
seen it happening before with bands like Papa Roach who addressed
similar things on their debut Infest and who were unquestionably one
of the bigger bands in their era. While for that generation it was
mainly Nu-Metal to talk about these problems in their songs, right
now, these guys are the leaders of it. And they embrace it by calling
it 'The New Broken Scene', being aware of their possible influence on
kids these days.
Putting the
ballads aside, 5 Seconds of Summer also have a proper amount of arena
anthems piled up on Sounds Good Feels Good. Especially in songs such
as 'Permanent Vacation' (which sounds awfully similar to Sum-41,
nobody can deny that), 'Hey Everybody', 'Safety Pin', 'Castaway' or
'San Francisco', you can hear the influences and examples they've
taken from bands like Panic! At The Disco and All Time Low (and even a bit of Brand New). There's
also a very intense Fall Out Boy vibe going on for the most part of
the record with chants in almost every song, using all four of their
voices in their favor for it, making sure to incorporate the crowds
into their upcoming live performances.
Instrumentally,
it's out of question that these guys have come a long way from what
they used to create. There's even a guitar solo, or two, included.
To pick up on something previously stated, the songs manage to sound ridiculously massive by including a big variety of instruments which are only minimalistic-ally used though. This is foremost prominent in 'Invisible', 'San Francisco' and 'Outer Space'. Undeniably, they had a lot of helping hands, but the fact that they managed to write this kind of music despite that, at such a considerably young age is certainly an achievement to be proud of.
To pick up on something previously stated, the songs manage to sound ridiculously massive by including a big variety of instruments which are only minimalistic-ally used though. This is foremost prominent in 'Invisible', 'San Francisco' and 'Outer Space'. Undeniably, they had a lot of helping hands, but the fact that they managed to write this kind of music despite that, at such a considerably young age is certainly an achievement to be proud of.
Personally,
the thing that bugs me the most about it is the track listing. To
have it start with a bunch of upbeat and motivational songs, to then
fall into this depth of ballads, one after another, is quite the
downer. While it still gets a little more exciting every now and
then, it doesn't flow through all too well. This is no criticism of
the songs itself, but the placement of them on the list. Once I gave
it another listen on shuffle though, it felt a lot more natural.
There might be a concept behind it all as to why they chose this
exact track listing, but as for now, that is unknown and I rather
make up my own.
But as it
always is with music, everybody interprets it in a different way and
has an own reason and meaning to find in it.
Is it pop
punk now?
Not really.
It's 5
Seconds of Summer and that's really all it needs to be.
Well done.
Overall: 8/10
Favorite
track(s): Jet Black Heart, Castaway
Cheerio xx
