5 SECONDS OF SUMMER

“Youngblood”

(Album Review)

Reviewer: Georgie Dickinson

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As a long time observer of 5 Seconds Of Summer, it’s been extremely intriguing to watch their evolution from the Annandale Hotel to supporting One Direction in stadiums around the world. 5 Seconds Of Summer have constantly had the support of fans around the world since their rise to fame in 2013 and the release of their long-awaited third album Youngblood is no exception. Youngblood divided the hearts of fans from the release of its first single Want You Back and placed high expectations on the band’s new direction. And from first listen, 5 Seconds Of Summer have not let them down.

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Youngblood starts with its title track; the simple strums and honest vocals of frontman Luke Hemmings. Its interest slowly creeps with light layers of percussion and synth. However, it’s once the hard-hitting bass in its chorus roars that you can fully fathom the direction of this album.

The punk sensibilities of 5 Seconds Of Summer have been hung and left to dry on this record. In 5 Seconds Of Summer’s retrospect, change has been a good thing. They’ve reached their second Australian #1 with this title track alone and taken over radio airwaves around the world and all in all, Youngblood is already promising.

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Following Youngblood is the upbeat comeback single Want You Back and mellow heartbreaker Lie To Me – a retrospect of the ups and downs their predecessor spoke of. Instrumentally, it mimics the high and low points of relationships with emotive guitar tones and harmonies. But what sets this album apart from their previous releases is the matured lyricism of reminiscence and heartbreak. And Lie To Me is a perfect showcase of that.

Containing vocals from both Hemmings and bassist Calum Hood, Lie To Me includes brutally honest lines like “And I know that you don’t, but if I ask you if you love me, I hope you lie to me”. Paired with Hemmings and Hood‘s vocals reminiscent of a barbershop quartet, Lie To Me is an example of what 5 Seconds Of Summer deliver brilliantly on this album.

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Valentine is the first song on the album that contains isolated vocals from other members in the band. Including features from Hemmings, Hood and guitarist Michael Clifford, Valentine is much more experimental than what we’ve heard so far. It’s laced with tight-lipped organs and a sensual bass line. Followed by The Police-inspired track Talk Fast, these two tracks showcase the vast range of influences seen in 5 Seconds Of Summer’s music and most importantly, Youngblood as an album.

5 Seconds Of Summer’s former pop-punk identity breaks through halfway through this album with Moving Along. It’s filled with palm muted power chords and a grand drum fill and the first set of vocals from drummer Ashton Irwin. It’s a reminder that 5 Seconds Of Summer are still the same band who wrote Sounds Good, Feels Good and their self-titled debut. It’s a familiar sight to see before we are thrown into disco-esque track If Walls Could Talk.

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The story of Youngblood continues with Better Man, one of the more positive songs on the album about becoming a better person for the one you love. Better Man has the instrumentation of most indie-pop songs, extremely percussion-based with a simple bass line as its foundation. Within the madness that is Youngblood, it’s refreshing to hear a song like Better Man, a spark of happiness before delving back into dark romantic trials like More.

More, on the other hand, is a song straight out of Fall Out Boy’s post-hiatus handbook. It has heavy synth, loud guitars and an anthemic chorus. Hemmings’ vocals ring full of angst during its chorus before its breakdown of instruments reigns triumphant, and it only makes you wonder the electrifying euphoria More could add to 5 Seconds Of Summer’s live show.

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5 Seconds Of Summer continue with their “rock band turned pop” sound with Why Don’t You Love Me. Hemmings, Hood and Clifford express emotive lyrics co-written with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo as vocal snippets swim through this stirring power ballad. Despite the brutal tone of this track, Why Don’t You Love Me pulls through with upbeat sensibilities in its bridge and final chorus creating a euphoric ending.

And then comes Wake Up In Japan; roaring synth, hints of palm-muted guitar and dreamy lyricism as Hemmings narrates his absence from his love interest. This song oozes of delirium before rolling into an intoxicating paradise and there’s no lie that the songs main lyric “I woke up in Japan, feeling low, feeling lonely” becomes a constant image in your head before dark pop tendencies creep back in Empty Wallets.

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Empty Wallets could pass as the background music of a scene from a coming of age film. There’s a lo-fi fuzz that hides in its corner and dramatic strings to the nines. The grittiness of Clifford’s vocal heard in the song’s chorus amplify the dark pop essences of this track, making this track a great hurrah before Youngblood’s melancholic ending Ghost Of You.

We come full circle in 5 Second Of Summer’s career in Ghost Of You, layered with piano, guitar, drums and the raw vocals of Luke Hemmings. References to earlier songs such as “The lipstick stain fades with time”. There’s a feeling of finalisation in Ghost Of You as Hemmings sings of the realisation that his love interest is not coming back. And although it’s a bittersweet ending to the album, it’s an ending that is real and authentic to the listener.

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After their well-deserved break, 5 Seconds Of Summer have reached new heights with their latest venture Youngblood. Breaking away from their punk rock chains and turning to synth pop has gone in their favour, with every track paving a story of love and heartbreak. 5 Seconds Of Summer have already paved their way onto music charts around the world, but it’s Youngblood that will catapult their new musical direction into the history books.