Calm

by 5 Seconds of Summer

Overview

Having long ago transitioned away from their early punk-influenced boy band sound, Australia's 5 Seconds of Summer complete their transformation into a sophisticated pop outfit with 2020's ambitious Calm. Where 2018's Youngblood found the five-member outfit embracing a dance-oriented vibe, Calm finds them moving a step further and augmenting their hooky pop with strings, Latin rhythms, and light, '90s industrial goth elements a a Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails. It's a sound most clearly delineated on cuts like "No Shame" and "Teeth," where throbbing, effects-soaked basslines rub up against pulsing drum-machine beats and shimmering guitar arpeggios. Perhaps most evocative is "Easier," a slow-burn club banger that, not surprisingly, sounds like Nine Inch Nails' "Animal" grafted onto a Maroon 5 song. However, even with the alt-rock intimations, much of the band's sound remains grounded in mainstream pop via lead singer Luke Hemmings' R&B-influenced croon. The same can be said of the band's songwriting, which never veers too far afield of the Maroon 5/Imagine Dragons' end of the pop spectrum. Some of the credit to the group's inventive stylistic mashup can go to their production/songwriting collaborators here, including at various times Louis Bell, Charlie Puth, Happy Perez, and Andrew Watt. And while the '90s Trent Reznor-goes-pop aesthetic is carried throughout much of the album, there are other, just as prominent stylistic influences at play as they dive into steamy, Latin-tinged pop with "Red Desert," call-back their EDM influences on "Old Me," and draw upon an infectious '80s-style dance pop on "Wildflower." Calm is the sound of a band whose influences have continued to evolve right along with them and their fans. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	03/27/2020
Label:	Interscope / Polydor
UPC:	0602508585562

Tracks

1. Red Desert
2. No Shame
3. Old Me
4. Easier
5. Teeth
6. Wildflower
7. Best Years
8. Not in the Same Way
9. Lover of Mine
10. Thin White Lies
11. Lonely Heart
12. High

Album Credits

Performance Credits

5 Seconds of Summer   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Calum Hood   Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background),Bass,Vocals,Ensemble,Bass (Vocal)
Luke Hemmings   Guitar,Vocals,Ensemble,Vocals (Background)
Louis Bell   Keyboards
Ryan Tedder   Vocals (Background)
Tom Morello   Guitar
Oscar Goerres   Percussion,Vocals (Background),Keyboards
Ali Tamposi   Vocals (Background)
Michael Clifford   Guitar,Vocals,Ensemble,Vocals (Background)
Andrew Watt   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Keyboards,Bass (Vocal),Vocals (Background)
Charlie Puth   Keyboards
Geoffrey Warburton   Vocals (Background)
Benny Blanco   Keyboards
Happy Perez   Guitar
Ashton Irwin   Drums,Vocals,Ensemble,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Tom Herbert   Mixing Assistant,Engineer
Billy Walsh   Composer
Matt Wolach   Mixing Assistant
Louis Bell   Composer,Producer,Programming
Peter Hook   Composer
Ryan Tedder   Composer
Donna Lewis   Composer
Gillian Gilbert   Composer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
Rami   Composer
Matt Pauling   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Producer
Bernard Sumner   Composer
Evan Rogers   Composer
Benny Blanco   Composer,Producer,Programming
Oscar Goerres   Programming,Composer,Producer
Ozgo   Composer
Ammo   Composer
Ali Tamposi   Composer,Vocal Producer
Michael Clifford   Composer
Carter Lang   Composer
Brian Lee   Composer,Composer
Caesar Edmunds   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
John Ryan   Composer,Producer,Vocal Producer
Geoff Swan   Engineer
5 Seconds of Summer   Composer
Stephen Morris   Composer
Carl Sturken   Composer
Mark "Spike" Stent   Mixing
Luke Hemmings   Composer
Andrew Watt   Composer,Producer,Programming,Executive Producer
Sierra Deaton   Composer
Charlie Puth   Composer,Producer,Programming
Geoffrey Warburton   Composer
Dre Moon   Composer,Producer,Programming
Jeff Gunnell   Engineer
Michael Freeman   Engineer
Alan Moulder   Mixing,Engineer
Nathan Perez   Composer
Spike Stent   Mixing
Chris Galland   Engineer
Benjamin Levin   Composer
Paul Lamalfa   Engineer
Joshua Coleman   Composer
Adam Schoeller   Engineer
David Kutch   Mastering Engineer
Julian Bunetta   Composer,Producer,Vocal Producer
Andrew Wotman   Composer
Happy Perez   Composer,Producer,Programming
Rami Yacoub   Composer
Ashton Irwin   Composer
Calum Hood   Composer