5 Seconds of Summer

5 Seconds of Summer – She’s Kinda Hot

“Like a pop-punk song straight out of my teenage years.”

Tim: Lead single from their upcoming album; bit of a racket, but have a listen anyway.

Tom: Wow, that’s like a pop-punk song straight out of my teenage years. There’s definitely some Offspring influence in there, and some Sum 41.

Tim: It really is, isn’t it? I spent the first one or two listens not enjoying it much (see previous ‘racket’ comment) so I was trying to work out what sort of structure it was going for, but then I decided to give up because basically it doesn’t, and by that point the racket-appreciation part of my brain had warmed up and then at work I put on Teenage Dirtbags, a compilation album of basically all the pop punk hits of the past twenty years that’s really, really enjoyable, but I’ve got distracted.

Tom: A little bit, yes. By the time the track actually kicks in, I think I know what it’s going for: that chorus is a proper summer-festival shout-along, and, hell, it makes as much sense as In Too Deep did. If they want to go that way, well, best of luck to them.

Tim: BASICALLY, 5 Seconds of Summer are entering POP PUNK phase, and doing very well with it.

Tom: I think the title and first verse threw me: I was expecting it to be a boyband song about a girl, and it’s really not. Once I’d adjusted to that: yeah, I can see this working.

Tim: Right – we’ve got all the necessary bits: repetitive hook, fair amount of anger and shouty vocals, lots of hefty drums and guitars, so just as long as I’ve got warmed up first I’m very into this. Nice one.

5 Seconds of Summer – Good Girls

“Can I go with complain instead?”

Tim: “Good girls are bad girls who haven’t been caught” is the lesson we’re meant to take from this.

Tom: Well, that just seems patronising. A bit like their last song.

Tim: Well, have a listen and see if you agree.

Tom: Was that an Amazing Horse reference in that irritatingly-long introduction? I mean, I don’t really care, I skipped past it after that, but even so.

Tim: So, we could look at this as a sort of anti-entablishment anthem, with the very words the head of the dictatorship used right back at him to inspire rebellion. Or, we could jump around and party. Rebel. Party. Whichever suits you.

Tom: Can I go with complain instead?

Tim: If you like.

Tom: About the message, about the godawful interjections in the background, about the middle eight that’s actually just the same chorus but with less instruments? About the video that would have been a bit embarrassing for Busted in their heyday?

Tim: Valid criticisms, I suppose, but I quite like it, at least enough to Shazam it twice in two days when it came on Westfield’s music systems, so I’m happy. And, worth noting, taking them further away from boyband territory, which may help their fans claim some credibility, however meaningless a concept that may be.

5 Seconds of Summer – Amnesia

“They are totally a boy band, though.”

Tim: It’s time for the necessary boyband (yeah, they’re not a boyband, whatever) ballad to proved they’re flexible and can do any sort of music.

Tom: They are totally a boy band, though.

Tim: There’s possibly an interesting discussion on what makes a boyband – their album, for example, contains tracks on a level with Blink-182’s style (who were also late teens when they started), yet you’d never describe them as like that. This track, though: totally boyband ballad.

So it’ll be crap, right?

Tim: Well, actually, not at all. It’s a bloody great track.

Tom: I wasn’t convinced until the chorus kicked in. I think it’s fairer to say that it’s a bloody great chorus — seriously, that’s a fantastic chorus — with a decent track around it.

Tim: The strings on the chorus stand out as being particularly glorious, as does Luke’s vocal – he’s clearly stretching the limits there in the chorus, but that simply comes across as very earnest, which is to be applauded, if only for the health risks.

Tom: It’ll be interesting to see whether that can be done live.

Tim: Two minor nitpicks: the video, while fun, doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the song, and the lyric “the way you tasted” is a little bit icky.

Tom: Fair point on the second, but if you’re talking about a video about a guy who’s lost someone: well, yeah, that seems about right to me.

Tim: Perhaps, and possibly it’s just because all four of them are involved, but there don’t seem to be nearly as many “look at me I’m all alone” shots as there should be.

Tom: And if you’re talking about lyrics: “the pictures that you sent me, they’re still living in my phone”. That is creepy on MANY levels.

Tim: Unless it’s just an iMessage thread that’s just a vast number of brilliant GIFs. Then it’s wonderful.

And finally, purely because they’re throwing them around in the car in the video: I bought some Froot Loops a while ago because I remember them being amazing. They weren’t. I was upset.

Tom: That’s it. From now on, we’re a cereal review blog.

Tim: Coming up tomorrow: Lucky Charms, and how I didn’t get anywhere near as lucky as I’d been promised.

5 Seconds of Summer feat. Scott Mills – Hearts Upon Our Sleeve

“He’s very much The Third Wheel here.”

Tim: It has been noted in many, many places, including here and many radio stations, that the Pitbull/J-Lo official world cup song is, to be blunt, utter cack. So, went the idea, let’s rope in one of the biggest not-a-boyband boybands around and get them to write a decent one.

Tom: Let me guess: half-decent track ruined by the need to fit Scott Mills into it?

Tim: Well…

Tim: But a very decent track overall, with all the necessary woah-ohing, commentary(ish), crowd noises and rap that’d probably be better brushed under the carpet.

Tom: I always think that these Scott Mills songs, while decently produced, don’t quite overcome the inherent awkwardness involved in them. Let’s make sure Scott’s in the song somewhere even though he objectively makes the track worse. Let’s rope in anyone we can, even if they don’t know what’s going on.

Tim: Oi, what you saying about Tinie Tempah standing around gormlessly?

Tom: Scott’s certainly a competent DJ and radio host. It’s just that he’s very much The Third Wheel here.

Tim: Perhaps, but by and large it is a genuinely good track – not very ‘Brazil’, but definitely one that I’d rather listen to than, to be honest, any of the other football tracks we’ve had. And, with the cheeky self-referencing final chorus, the various goings on in the video and the number of times ‘shirts’ sounds like some other word–

Tom: Oh, damn it.

Tim: –I think we can safely describe this one as fun, much like yesterday. What a pleasant couple of days these have been.

5 Seconds of Summer – She Looks So Perfect

“What does a number one mean when no-one’s actually heard it?”

Tim: Yes, I know, another boyband, but this time there’s something INTERESTING. And it sounds slightly different, and it’s got a very fun video.

Tom: So these guys sound a bit like a discount version of the Strokes, instead of a discount version of One Direction. Got it.

Tim: You say discount, but this is a brilliant track. It went straight to number one on iTunes in 38 countries (including the UK and their native Australia) when it became available to pre-order*, and that would have been deservedly so.

* Hate that term. How did society forget that ordering is, by definition, already pre-?

Tom: It’s not a bad track, true: in a regular charts week, it’ll stand out.

Tim: Except – it wasn’t deserved. Because this was available to pre-order before this video was up. And also before the very good lyric video was up. Before, in fact, any member of the public had heard any part of it at all. And that’s odd. Isn’t it?

I suppose it’s nice that their fans have faith in them to produce a good tune, but it raises the question of how charts can stay relevant with this marketing model. It seems sales may be somewhat meaningless, or at least the pre-orders.

Tom: Now, for the official UK charts — unless things have changed very recently — pre-orders counted as purchases in the first week of release, which meant a much higher chart position in that first week. iTunes, of course, just counts them immediately.

Tim: What does a number one mean when no-one’s actually heard it? It could, let’s be honest, just be three and a half minutes of them all throwing up last night’s hangover. A worthy number one? Hell no. But a number one nonetheless.

Tom: There’s a dubstep joke there somewhere.

Tim: Oh, you. Anyway, fortunately it’s not three and a half minutes of them throwing up; it’s instead a great track and indeed worthy.