5 Seconds of Summer: 5 Seconds of Summer

0
Posted July 28, 2014 by in Pop
5secondsofsummer-header

Rating

Overall
 
 
 
 
 

2/ 5

Details

Genre: , ,
 
 
Label:
 
 
 
 
Genre: Pop punk, pop-rock
 
Producer: Jack Sinclair, John Feldmann
 
Label: Capitol, Hi or Hey
 
Format: Digital download, compact disc
 
Time: 37:07
 
Release Date: 27 June 2014
 
Spin This: "Beside You," "She Looks So Perfect"
 

Pros:

The opening cut and "Beside You" show off the best of the Down Under punk-inspired group
 

Cons:

Overly ripe with "ooh" chants, juvenile bent lyricism, 1D rock pervusions and not enough musical breakthroughs
 

1D fans are treated to a punk rock version alternative. Sadly, that’s all you’re going to get

by J Matthew Cobb
Full Article

1D fans are treated to a punk rock version alternative. Sadly, that’s all you’re going to get

Weaving together the juvenile fun of One Direction with the bad-ass punk of Green Day seems like a legitimate fit, but the pop boy frills are just too weightless for the type of grandeur this Australian combo attempts to strike on their self-titled debut LP. They are smart to open the album with their best offering. At the jump of opener cut “She Looks So Perfect,” the boys highlight their rock with loud, ambitious guitar and big sing-a-long hooks. The catchy lyrics are also a delightful surprise: “You look so perfect standing there in my American Apparel underwear/And I know now that I’ll slow down.” Luckily the album has a few bright spots: “Beside You” is a rock ballad burning with all the burning excellence of a radio-ready, summer-lite hit; “Heartbreak Girl” features one or two blossoming lyrical lines, a good share of catchy guitar struts and production value nods. But after awhile the grandiose swells of lightweight Neon Trees melodies (a la “Everybody Talks”) on “Don’t Stop” and the copy-and-paste riffs of Nineties rock tapestry eats away at the rock band motif 5 Seconds of Summer are trying to define. Most of their booming jams are rife with the same old “ooh-ohh” vamps (“Good Girls,” “End Up Here,” “Kiss Me Kiss Me,” “Never Be”) and smell like rock anthems culled out with One Direction in mind. Their consistency to write for teens may be their biggest blunder, especially as they mask themselves with a much older sound: “She’s got a naughty tattoo/In a place that I want to get to/ But my mom still drives me to school,” they sing on “18.” This stuff won’t age well. Even Taylor Swift’s “(Feels Like) 22” and “You Belong With Me” will have an afterlife when we die when compared with this mish-mash of adult sounds and teen tales. Plus there’s just not enough bite or believability in Luke Hemmings’ lead vocals to convince listeners that this might be the Foo Fighters of the now generation.


About the Author

J Matthew Cobb

Managing editor of HiFi Magazine


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