On 23rd September 2022, after two years of waiting, we were finally given a new 5 Seconds of Summer album: 5SOS5. It has been a long two years since Calm was released, most noticeably because of the fact their fourth studio album was released days after the Covid lockdown began. 5SOS’s fifth album consists of 19 songs, with an hour and four minutes run time.
The wide-ranging nature of the first five singles set the tone for the rest of the record: there are slower songs, faster-paced ones, experimental sounds, heavy instruments and lots more drums, and equally more of Calum Hood and Michael Clifford’s voice alongside a wide array of songs to suit every 5SOS fan out there.
The album opens with ‘COMPLETE MESS’ which was their first single off the record, released on 2nd March 2022. As one of the first songs written from the album, this song really shows that the band has found their sound; with the beat drop and catchy chorus, this sound is bound to get stuck in your head.
The first non-single track on the release is standout track ‘Easy For You To Say’. The foundation of the song lies in the use of an organ accompanied with powerful lyricism: “this nostalgia in my bones / why can’t I forget it?” and “between all the gasping, I finally breathe.” This is a song about how hard it is to become a better person and the feelings of moving away from home. 5SOS on Spotify said that many of the songs reflect on metamorphosis, “moving forward by getting through the obstacles that have been stuck in your way for a long time.” When they wrote ‘Easy For You To Say’, they “hadn’t been home for a long while” so the Sydney lyric was important to them.
5SOS are both their old selves and their newer mature selves on this album, and the music is both a step away from their old roots but firmly footed in being the sounds we’d also expect from them. This is also their first independently-produced record. Whilst 5SOS may seem grown up, this album is a nod to their younger selves with the nostalgic ‘Best Friends’ which celebrates the foursome’s friendship: “I’ve got the best friends in this place / and I’m holding on”. Hearing Michael’s voice on this cute song about friendship brought back memories of their earlier music, but his voice has both matured and strengthened in tone. The drums and guitar alongside Calum’s voice on ‘You Don’t Go To Parties Anymore’ is evocative of their debut sound.
‘Moodswings’ and ‘Emotions’ are sonically reminiscent of some of the sounds of Sounds Good Feels Good, giving the fans instant nostalgia. ‘Moodswings’ offers a blend of all of their voices which we have missed out on the previous two albums, and ‘Emotions’ gives fans a deep song about being in the moment with your emotions and feeling caught up in these dark feelings, bringing back themes from ‘Jet Black Heart’ and ‘Invisible‘.
As one of the slowest songs on the album, ‘Older’ featuring Luke Hemming’s fiancé Sierra Deaton, is a heart-warming romantic song about not wanting to age without having your loved one next to you: “I don’t wanna get older / without your head on my shoulder.” The strong sweet vocals from Luke with the delicate voice of Sierra blends like a smoothie.
Luke’s voice is strong throughout 5SOS5 but on ‘Caramel’ he further shows us just how diverse of a range his voice actually has. With the repeated drum beats and change in speed and rhythm, this is an experimental song about the decline of a romantic relationship. The caramel acts as something sweet – the first phase of love, before having the comedown after a ‘sugar’ rush.
5SOS5 is a beautifully hand-crafted album, symbolising eleven years of the band’s musical experience. It curates the strength of Luke, Ashton, Michael and Calum’s friendship, and the memories and experiences of love, experiencing hardship and growing older. This is an album that experiments not only with sound instrumentally, but with powerful poetic lyricism, whilst giving both Calum and Michael more of a spotlight. It shows us all that 5SOS will never stop striving to be their best selves. This album really is their best work up to date and can only be a promising sign of what’s to come with their sixth record. Even if you are not a fan, this album will be sure to make you love 5SOS’s music.
Words by Cara-Louise Scott
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