Tabitha Wilson
Australian pop-rock band 5SOS is back, with their highly anticipated fifth studio album, 5SOS5.
The group, comprised of Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin, and Michael Clifford, formed in 2011 in Sydney, New South Wales, has become one of the most successful musical acts in Australia’s history. Since 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer have sold more than 10 million albums, over 2 million concert tickets worldwide, and have total song streams that surpass 7 billion.
5SOS5
Their latest release, the first to be produced under BMG Rights Management, combines atmospheric pop with experimental folk tunes, all interlaced with their trademark sound. Hemmings, one of the four-piece, stated that the lyricism on this project was their most ‘introspective’ yet, with a newfound emotional vulnerability being clear on this record, particularly in comparison to their lighter, more generic work previously.
Track List
The album starts with the lead single released to promote the album, Complete Mess. The track, which came out in March of this year, really sets the tone for the record, with a slow, soft guitar instrumental building into an explosive chorus. The melancholic vibe of the tune is further heard on the equally emotional Easy For You To Stay, where the band laments lost love over surging synths.
“The dreamy duet is laced with genuiene, heatfelt emotion”
The third tune, Bad Omens, captivates the listener with a broody, mysterious opening instrumental, before combining compelling vocal effects with cinematic, driven drums. The fourth track, and the third single to be released from the album, Me, Myself & I, continues with a mysterious feel, but instead of vivid synths, chooses to pair melancholy guitar riffs with introspective lyricism.
Take My Hand is another wistful tune, with lashings of nostalgia sprinkled over a cautiously optimistic, melodic synth-heavy instrumental. This contrasts with the next song, Carousel, a hectic, fast-paced track detailing a desire to break free.
One of the most heart-warming tunes on the project comes in the form of Older, featuring Hemmings’s fiancé Sierra Deaton. The dreamy duet is laced with genuine, heartfelt emotion, and is definitely one of the highlights of the album. The groovy, poppy dance track HAZE provides a contrast to this, with You Don’t Go To Parties having notably darker undertones than any of the other tunes on the record.
“[The single] Bleach, is one of the band’s more experimental releases to date”
This sombre soundscape continues on the toxic Blender but is instantly sweetened by the silky, almost sickly Caramel, a sweet, folk-inspired track. Best Friends is equally saccharine but is a warmly welcomed happier tune.
The 13th song on the record, Bleach, is one of the band’s more experimental releases to date, with the electro-pop elements adding to the overall sci-fi nature of the track – indeed, Bleach feels as though it would work perfectly as the pairing for a montage of a romance subplot in a low budget, indie sci-fi flick.
Red Line provides us with mystical, groovy vibes, and both Moodswings and Flatline are perhaps the most reminiscent of the band’s earlier work, with melodious, sunny acoustic guitar instrumentals.
Emotions crafts a gorgeously indie feel, and transports the listener back to the early 2000s, whereas Bloodhound pulls us right back to the present, with a creeping bass line that feels evocative of The Weeknd. The album ends with TEARS!, a fitting, yearning tune that ends with arguably more questions than it answers.
“The boys are showing no sign of slowing down”
What’s Next?
Indeed, 5SOS5 is the band’s most impressive release to date, and even after ten years, it seems that the boys are showing no sign of slowing down – they are currently promoting the album on their Take My Hand World Tour, which began in Dublin in April of this year, and will end in their native Australia in mid-December.
If you’ve not listened to 5SOS since their hit single She Looks So Perfect in 2014 – it might be time to dive back in.
Featured image courtesy of Sebastian Evri via Pexels. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Tabitha Wilson
Tabitha is currently a reporter for Newsquest, and was previously an MA Journalism student at Sheffield University. She has worked as a maritime journalist in the past, and studied politics at Durham University. She enjoys writing about music, culture, and travel.