The word “boyband” either fills you with dread, or warms your heart with nostalgia for a time of swooped hairdos and the cheesy, infectious pop of One Direction. 5 Seconds of Summer, who have long outlasted 1D, have grappled with the word. On their sixth album EVERYONE’S A STAR!, they tackle it head-on to create some of their most compelling work yet.
The Sydney-born group had been treading water in a genre identity crisis since their behemoth pop hit, “Youngblood”, creating some uninspired music in recent years. But they’ve returned with a focused vision, with drummer Ashton Irwin telling us in September that they don’t want to go “back to making stale pop-punk records.”
The album’s second single, “Boyband”, explores the draining pressures of fame over dark, pulsing electronic production, lamenting the “monkey dance” of their non-stop album cycles. The chorus has that classic 5SOS tongue-in-cheek delivery, calling themselves an “imaginary boyfriend / Irritates the metalheads.” It’s a tale as old as time (as old as the Beatles, anyway) that artists with female fanbases are written off as worthless fodder, but 5SOS reclaim that narrative with confidence.
Ironically, “Boyband” and three other tracks are co-written and produced by past collaborator John Ryan, who has worked on One Direction’s biggest hits. This edgier sound is a testament to Ryan and veteran pop producer Jason Evigan’s chameleonic, light touch, letting 5SOS guide the vision here.
The album opens with the title track, setting the tone for a gritty, candid collection. Far-away vocals float over psychedelic synths as Hemmings broods: “Blue light killed the dreamer/ Somewhere in the dark.”
“No. 1 Obsession” expands on these lyrics, with Irwin saying the track “talks about the serotonin and the dopamine that comes from whatever comes through your iPhone screen.” It does so backed by pounding drums and arpeggiated synths.
“NOTOK”, “Telephone Busy”, and “Evolve” see the band try out a Damon Albarn impression with distorted spoken-word vocals. They largely pull off their nonchalance as they explore self-destructive habits in life and love. The vocals are more amped in the chorus of “NOTOK”, yelling “I like the darker side of me, that part of me / Comes out to play when I’m with you.” Considering half the band is married with kids, the screwed-up party boy trope is not as convincing as it used to be. “NOTOK” pulls it off with some of the lively production on the album, but it falls flat on the latter two tracks.
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Things get vulnerable on “Ghost”, a personal track for frontman Luke Hemmings which bassist Calum Hood says is “him pouring his heart out.” Co-written by Hemmings’ wife Sierra, psychedelic synths swirl in the background as he laments over a lover that shares his self-destructive habits: “I don’t want to go to sleep / ‘Cause I’m afraid of what I’ll see / I can’t look you in the eyes / ‘Cause I’m afraid it looks like me.”
Insomnia is the biggest recurring theme on the record, most obviously on the breakup anthem “I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again”. Hood’s Aussie accent and sincere tone shine through in his verses: “Pink tears falling tonight / Through the red blush.”
Anxious love continues in the aural panic attack track “istillfeelthesame”, powered by a racing drum machine, fast-paced electric guitar, and ‘80s-inspired synth riffs. For those craving that old-school 5SOS vibe, skip straight to “Sick of Myself”, a pop-rock banger that implores you to dance around your room.
“The Rocks” has that same punk-pop essence that stands on the shoulders of Panic! at the Disco, with anxious, defeatist lyrics that permeate the album: “I search the world for somebody else / ‘Cause I can’t take, take this feelin’ alone.”
The album ends happily ever after with the rousing love song “Jawbreaker”. Hemmings changes his tone from “NOTOK”, admitting finally “the darker parts of me are caving in” over fast-paced, thudding drums.
While we may have heard about the perils of fame, love, addiction, and parasocial relationships in the spotlight, we haven’t heard it from 5SOS before with such charisma and vulnerability, something that used to be reserved for the band’s solo projects.
Exploring every corner of the pop-rock genre on EVERYONE’S A STAR! has paid off to create an electric tapestry of sound that keeps you coming back for more. In a mainstream music landscape where bland male folk-pop acts are dominating the charts, EVERYONE’S A STAR! is a high-octane breath of fresh air.
5SOS’s EVERYONE’S A STAR! is out now. Watch the group on the first-ever episode of the Rolling Stone Uncut podcast.
