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
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