By: Taylor Phillips
Sports Editor
5 Seconds of Summer’s newest album, “CALM”, builds off the band’s previous album “Youngblood” and continues to wonderfully compliment and encompass the band’s pop rock genre.
The Australian pop band released their fourth studio album, “CALM,” after their release of their third studio album “Youngblood” in 2018. “CALM” is another strong album from 5 Seconds of Summer that embraces their roots of pop and rock music, along with songs that focus on relationships, love and heartbreak.
The band released their album on Mar. 27th, with the band releasing five out of the twelve songs before the album’s release. The album includes their hit single, “Easier” which was released on May 23, 2019 along with single “Teeth,” released on Aug. 21, 2019. The band also released their single “No Shame” on Feb. 5, which is also the name of the band’s world tour set to start in Ireland on May 11 of this year. “Old Me” was released on Feb. 21 and the band released the single “Wildflower” on Mar. 25, two days before the release of their fourth studio album.
The first track, “Red Desert,” sets the tone for the album, reflecting on what life would be like between lovers if one took a leap of faith to improve their relationship. The lyrics depict how they have been waiting too long to share how they felt and that they are willing to do whatever it takes to show how much they care about their significant other. The song’s hard hitting chorus keeps the listener engaged and evokes the emotions of the song, through the story it is trying to tell.
The track “No Shame” talks about how society has created influencers and celebrities, and how people are consumed in their lives and try to get their attention. The band talks about how the attention can cause celebrities to forget about those who care about them, ame the band does an amazing job telling the story and highlighting how they will never forget the people they love and that they will do whatever it takes to balance the life of a celebrity and their personal life.
Another track on the album, “Not in the Same Way,” immediately expresses to the listener how they feel with a powerful and strong opening verse. The song tells the story of how one can’t get over a breakup and how one still has feelings for the other, but the other doesn’t feel the same way. The song describes the constant cycle of their relationship and how it is painful to go through the same cycles over and over again, but their relationship never changes for the better. The opening verse automatically beautifully explains the cycles that the couple goes through and the pain that they experience through the constant cycles.
The eleventh track “Lonely Heart” starts with a slow, R&B sounding verse, before the band’s hard hitting pop rock roots help the listener understand the deeper meaning of heartbreak and being lonely. The song beautifully talks about how being lonely hurts and how it is hard to find one that encompasses the same qualities as the one that they loved.
The final song on the album “High” closes out the album with a R&B song that is very different from the rest of the high energy album. The slow and bluesy song talks about the hardship of trying to win over the person who they had a relationship with and proving to them that they are changing. The song hopes that the person still thinks of them as a good person and wants to prove to them that they have changed and are in a different space. Even though the song has a very different tone from the rest of the album, it is the perfect way to end the album, showing that making progress and changing can hopefully lead to a better future.
“CALM” is another outstanding album from 5 Seconds of Summer that reveals the band’s growth from their last album and strongly tells the stories of relationships, love and heartbreak through their pop rock genre, along with adding some R&B notes that fully encompasses the meaning behind the album.
5 Seconds of Summer’s album “CALM” was released on Mar. 27 and is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and YouTube. It can be purchased through platforms, such as iTunes for $9.99.
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