By: Sarah Shivley
Image Courtesy of music.apple.com
Hello everyone, and welcome to my contribution to Lowdown’s first round of blog posts! In light of recent events, most if not all concerts have been cancelled, so I sadly have neither interview nor concert footage today. Instead, I stayed safely in my living room and listened to 5 Seconds of Summer’s latest album, C.A.L.M., which dropped on March 27th. Here today is my review of said album.
Conveniently, the band members’ first names spell out the album’s name: Calum Hood (bassist), Ashton Irwin (drummer), Luke Hemmings (lead singer and rhythm guitarist), and Michael Clifford (lead guitarist). The Australian pop rock band’s fourth studio album debuted at the #62 spot on the Billboard Chart due to 11,000 albums being mistakenly shipped early.
Before deciding to review C.A.L.M., I hadn’t really paid much attention to 5sos after their 2014 debut single, “She Looks So Perfect,” so I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. The band has matured since 2014, and it shows in the lyrical content and sound of this album. Major themes in the album include moving forward and growing while reflecting on the past.
Now that we’ve got a little background info in, let’s review the actual tracks. I’m going to take you through each song on C.A.L.M., then wrap up with my overall thoughts on the album as a whole.
We kick off with the anthemic “Red Desert.” This opening track sets the tone for the album. With what’s probably a nod to Australia’s deserts, “Red Desert” talks about the “Red, red desert, heal our blues” and being in love. The song’s sound dipped into psychedelic rock a bit. This, along with the lyrics, was unexpected based on my initial experience with 5sos. I was excited to hear the rest of the album.
Next, we have “No Shame,” the second song and third single released. “No Shame” is a darker track than “Red Desert” but does not disappoint. It sounds a bit more pop-like as the band sings about their relationship with celebrity, the shifting tides of public opinion and keeping up the fame.
We then go into a more reflective track and the first promotional single, “Old Me.” What I like about this one is that it’s an acknowledgment of the person the singer used to be and that the old them was a necessary part of helping them become who they are today.
We now come to C.A.L.M.’s lead single, “Easier.” This one was released for radio last year, so this was not my first time hearing it. Hearing it through my earbuds in my living room is a different experience than casually listening to the radio in my car while driving to school. Here I can better appreciate Luke’s vocal range, along with the track’s heavier beat and darker tone.
And we move on to the next track: “Teeth,” also the album’s second single. This was one of my favorites on the whole album. Probably the most intense track, “Teeth” lives up to the title with a darker, grittier sound and lyrics describing an incredibly toxic relationship. I admit to having this one on repeat.
After “Teeth”, C.A.L.M. changes musically to a slower, dreamier sound for the rest of the album. “Wildflower” is a romantic love song with an 80s pop feel to it. The fifth and last single released, “Wildflower” is a smooth decompression from the high-energy “Teeth,” retaining enough forward motion to take you to the rest of the album.
Keeping with the slower pace, “Best Years” comes next. This is another romantic song looking toward a future with the subject of the song. It is a nice followup to “Wildflower,” being presumably the next step in the romance. Expect to hear this song at weddings, folks.
Our next track in the lineup takes a break from the swoony romance in favor of a more reflective tone. “Not in the Same Way” keeps the slower, more fluid sound of the latter half of the album. I’ll be honest, this song was the low point of the album for me. The lyrics are fine, the song is easy to listen to, and the vocals are, as usual, on point. While the overall tone of “Not in the Same Way is, I’m sure, meant to be more reflective and not in the heat of the moment, it really did feel a bit watered down compared to the previous songs, especially coming off of the tenderness of “Best Years.” I would not call it a bad song, just a bit unmemorable stacked up against the likes of “Teeth” and “Wildflower.”
That’s enough complaining for now; let’s move on to the next track, “Lover of Mine.” Look for this song at weddings too. We’ve got a fast waltz tempo and lyrics that speak of this lover being “The only thing that I think I got right.” Luke’s vocals and the song’s buildup musically from a piano and acoustic guitar to adding in the rest make “Lover of Mine” a keeper. Jokes about wedding songs aside though, I did enjoy this one and “Best Years.”
The next track, “Thin White Lies,” takes a more angsty turn and a more electronic sound, talking about a broken heart and not liking himself anymore. Compared to “Not in the Same Way,” this song felt more raw, which I liked.
After that is “Lonely Heart,” which could be a direct sequel to “Lover of Mine.” “Lonely Heart” again starts out stripped back instrumentally, then builds up to a fine finish. This instrumental structure plus, again, the vocals, made the second to last track on C.A.L.M. worth the listen.
“High” is the final track on 5sos’s album. It is a poignant finish to an emotionally and musically complex album. With lyrics like “I need to stop letting me down” and a simple, acoustic musical arrangement, this last song is filled with regret and a desire to be better.
And that was the entire album! Looking back over the whole thing, I would say that the songs chosen for release as singles were spot-on, which does not always happen. I rank them thusly: (1) “Teeth”, (2) “Wildflower”, (3) “Easier”. (4) “No Shame” (5) “Old Me.” While I think “Red Desert” would have made a good single as well, there were quite a few good songs to choose from.
To wrap up my review, 5sos’s latest album is a smashing success. The songs work well individually and as a cohesive album that shows off 5 Seconds of Summer’s musical, emotional, and vocal range. The only song I really didn’t care much for was “Not in the Same Way,” mainly because it was not as memorable compared to the other songs. However, in my opinion, that was the only blemish on what is otherwise a solid body of work. This band has matured since “She Looks so Perfect”, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next. I give C.A.L.M. a solid 9/10 and will definitely be adding it to my playlist.