Three years since their last studio album, Australian pop-punk band 5 Seconds of Summer has officially made its return. Announced in late September with the lead single “NOT OK,” the band’s sixth studio album “Everyone’s A Star!” has been a hot topic with listeners.
Released on November 14, the album that marked another genre switch initially was not well received. Reviews began with the release of the lead single “NOT OK.” For this album, it seems as though the band is going for its own spin on The Gorillaz and Tame Impala. The lyrics in the song gave fans a clue as to what this new era would be like, saying “I like the darker side of me.”
The first few days after the single hit streaming services, the band faced some backlash. Throughout its fourteen year career, the band has gone through multiple different genre shifts. Originally a grunge, pop-punk band in 2014, its slow fade into synth and pop rock began after its second album “Sounds Good, Feels Good.” But what the boys were showing of this album at first seemed like nothing they had ever done before, and fans were skeptical of the quality.
As the band tapped into the vibe of the album with short skit TikToks, listeners eventually began to grasp what they were going for, and the single began to grow on people.
With spikier hair and dark eyeliner, 5sos has taken inspiration from bands the members grew up listening to and made it completely its own. Juxtaposing its previous album “5SOS5”, the band have done away with the synth production and experimented with a completely new style for most of the album, while keeping the aspects of its well-loved older music.
“Everyone’s A Star” as the starting track is a great opening to the album. Featuring strong production, giving aspects similar to Tame Impala, but still keeping that 5SOS charm.
The next three tracks are the three lead singles to the album. “Telephone Busy” being one of the most notable ones within the fanbase, with a music video release the same day as the album. The creative vision of the video brings in the same art as the cover.
“Boyband” tells a story that the band has been talking about their entire careers. The idea of a band being reduced to nothing but entertainment, especially with the popularity of boybands and “fangirls” in today’s society. “Boy in a boyband; make that monkey dance,” is a story the band has been telling for years, not wanting to be labeled a “boyband.” This song is the band taking back the title, being confident in its work, and hoping to break free from the stereotypes of boybands with largely female fan bases.
Track 5, “No. 1 Obsession” sounds similar to the previous songs, but it is not the strongest so far. Drummer Ashon Irwin told Rolling Stone that the song “talks about the serotonin and the dopamine that comes from whatever comes through your iPhone screen.”
“I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again” feels like a song that could come from the band’s 2020 album “Calm,” seeing as the two share producers, Julian Bunetta and John Ryan. They have previously produced “Kill My Time.” The track is a fan-favorite, with a recognizable beat and captivating lyrics, even with spoken verses featuring bass player Calum Hood’s aussie accent. Fans have claimed that this track sounds a lot like The 1975’s work.
Ending “I Still Feel The Same” is a dreamy instrumental outro, which fades into the 8th track “Ghost.” An even calmer song, but bringing the audience back in because of a different sound than the last few tracks. A hard hitting story about the lead singer Luke Hemmings’s detrimental habits, co-written by the singer’s wife, Sierra Deaton, this track is a vulnerable story with a psychedelic, synth melody about being “haunted by a similar ghost.”
The next three tracks “Sick of Myself,” “Evolve,” and “The Rocks” do pick the album back up to its previous pace, with quick bass lines and more electric rock aspects. “Evolve” is one of the more explicit songs on the album, with spicy lyrics like “I wanna get high/I wanna get drunk/When you gonna grow up?/I wanna do drugs/I wanna make love.”
Closing out the 12 songs, “Jawbreaker” is a perfect ending piece. Starting slow with a build up, the song is one of the stand-outs of the album.
5 Seconds of Summer’s sixth studio album is a captivating, electric piece that features wonderful nods to well-known bands and its older music while bringing something completely new to the band’s sound. Coming in at 36 minutes, this album is definitely one to check out.