Album Review: Sounds good Feels good – 5 Seconds of Summer

5 Seconds of Summer’s highly anticipated sophomore album Sounds Good Feels Good is out now.  5SOS produced and co-wrote the album with producer John Feldmann (of “Goldfinger”) and engineers Zakk Cervini and Matt Pauling.

The album kicks off with Money. With a loud pop punk vibe, the track catches the listener’s attention. This song is without a doubt the song that we’ll be screaming at the Sounds Live Feels Live shows.

She’s Kind Of Hot was the first single from the album that was released in July. Although the title is misleading, the song is less about girls and more about empowerment, acceptance, and knowing that everything will be alright. The song also introduced us to “The New Broken Scene,” a movement that the band wants fans to rally behind. With lyrics like “They say we’re losers and we’re alright with that,” the band lets fans know that it’s okay to be different and that everything will be all right in the end.“We are the kings and the queens of the new broken scene”

Hey Everybody was also another single that was released in early October. This song has a Duran Duran “Hungry Like The Wolf” vibe to it. P.S Duran Duran actually helped co-write the song.

The band premiered Permanent Vacation on their Rock Out With Your Socks Out tour and fans were just itching to hear the studio version after hearing it live. This song is empowering and the track emphasizes one of the concepts of “The New Broken Scene” with “we’re the voice of the new generation.” 

Jet Black Heart is darker than the previous tracks and it definitely highlights personal mental struggles and that is evident in the opening lyrics of the song “Everybody’s got their demons, even wide awake or dreaming …”  The instruments are strong in this track and the lyrics even stronger.

Catch Fire is one of the songs on the record with a pop sound. Every single one of their voices is so strong on this song. This a song that will sound amazing live.

Safety Pin represents the visual portion of the “The New Broken Scene” message. The logo of the “The New Broken Scene” is a broken heart, held together with a Safety Pin. It’s lyrics like“We’ll safety pin, the pieces of our broken hearts back together, patching up all the holes until we both feel much better” that gives listeners a description of what the whole new broke scene is about.

Waste The Night definitely has a Police groove and Killers inspired drum beat. The repetition of the lyric “I don’t wanna waste it, don’t wanna waste the night” really drives home the message of this one, you just don’t want to waste the time you have with someone.

Vapor is as airy and beautiful song. Listeners will love how the lyrics soften to match the longing in the vocals. This song shows off 5SOS’ lyrical skills strongly. This song means you feel like someone is their vapor and liking them a lot.

Castaway has a much rockier-punk sound than the rest of the album. The instrumentals are very strong and powerful in this song.

The Girl Who Cried Wolf is a very beautiful song, it starts of slow and the just builds and the repetition of “is anyone there at all” shows off Michael Clifford and how raw and strong his voice is.

Broken Home is one of the most powerful and beautiful songs on the album. The message behind this song is one that hits close to home for many fans. The lyrics alone are enough to make you shed a tear. The addition of the London symphony orchestra just adds to the beauty of this song.

 

Fly Away is another song that was released early and it was a huge hit. This song is fun and upbeat, it’s another song you just can’t help but sing along to.

Invisible is extremely powerful. Lyrics like “I was already missing before the night I left,” “just me and my shadow and all of my regrets,” and “who am I when I don’t know myself,” resonate with nearly everyone, especially the mostly teenage fan base. The song wraps up with a beautiful cello/violin duet at the end.

Airplanes is another song about making dreams happen. The lyrics “I’ve got something to prove, nothing to lose,” are inspiring and empowering. Michael’s edgy and strong vocals go hand in hand with the music.

San Francisco takes a little different direction to the rest of the album but has amazing harmonies and acoustics.

Outer Space/Carry On is the perfect song to close the album. This song is split into the two parts and showcases beautiful harmonies from the boys. This song leaves the fans with another great message about making things happen and not giving up.

Overall, 5 Seconds of Summer’s sophomore album does not disappoint.  There is no doubt that these 4 boys from Australia will definitely go far. The album shows off how much the band have grown as musicians and songwriters. You can tell that 5 Seconds of Summer definitely put their hearts into this album.