On their fourth studio album (encouragingly entitled Calm during these stressful times), Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer delved deep into the topic of relationships and love in general, providing emotive and relatable songwriting accompanied by eclectic and powerful instrumentals throughout. Heralded by well-received singles such as “Easier” and “No Shame”, the record exudes vulnerability and attention to detail while being able to hold the listener’s attention throughout the duration of the tracklist thanks to the constantly varying instrumentation choices.
Vocal delivery is also a stand out feature of this LP to me – lead singer Luke Hemmings constantly switches up the pitch and tone of his voice not only from track to track, but from verse to verse too – for example, on the record’s industrial-inspired second single “Teeth” (my personal favourite song on the album), there is a stark contrast between Hemmings’ delivery in the verses compared to the pre-chorus, which in turn differs to the hook. This helps to keep the album feeling fresh and unique, despite the subject material of many of the songs being similar.
Pop rock dominates this body of work sonically, with powerful guitar melodies being utilised consistently throughout. In a year where the charts have been dominated by addictive pop rhythms and hip-hop beats, this refreshing change of pace from the band further separates Calm from the other popular releases of 2020. It is difficult to identify album highlights when the enigmatic production and vocal changes render almost every track enjoyable, but I personally enjoyed “Wildflower”, an intoxicating mix of romanticism and sensuality that combines relatable sentiments about how you can love particular aspects about somebody that forces you to adore them even more with suggestive lyricism during the chorus, such as “you are my favourite fantasy”. This well-thought-out clash of ideals when it comes to relationships is a shining example of how 5SOS are able to encapsulate the many avenues of love that one can travel down in a twelve-track album.
In addition, “High” is a very satisfying closer to the album, with vulnerable vocal delivery that evokes emotion from the listener coupled with lyrics that describe the turmoil of the breakdown of a relationship and feelings of jealousy expressed after that point. While this kind of love had been explored frequently on the tracklist prior to hearing “High”, the perfect combination of all of the best aspects of the band’s performance on the record makes this a sure-fire highlight for me, as a final demonstration of 5 Seconds of Summer’s power to draw out sympathy from a listener as they come to comprehend and relate to what Hemmings croons about. Several other favourites include “Thin White Lies”, “Best Years” and “Red Desert”.
To summarise, Calm, while potentially perceived as stuck in a rut when it comes to lyrical content, is a solid album exploring the impact of love on people’s lives, underpinned by excellent instrumentation and powerful changes in vocals to affect the listener’s experience of the album. While I have not listened to any of the band’s previous three albums, I am certain they would have quite a tough time beating the emotional vulnerability and relatability of this soulful body of work.
8/10
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