by Nicole Garofalo, staff reporter
The biggest new rock act on the scene at the moment don’t play music similar to classic rock or metal, but have more of a pop-rock sound. Aussie group 5 Seconds of Summer (aka 5SOS) released their sophomore album, Sounds Good, Feels Good on October 23 and hope to start a revolution that they’ve entitled The New Broken Scene.
Earlier this year, the rock band released the first single off this album, “She’s Kinda Hot,” and introduced their New Broken Scene movement, which had a positive reaction from fans. However, some fans who have loved the band for years had an iffy feeling about the song when they first heard it.
“To be honest, I didn’t really like it that much. But then I started to listen to it more and I really liked the rhythm. And when I heard it live, I loved it more,” junior at Francis Lewis High School Celine Colon said.
Despite a handful of people not being sure how they felt about the song at first, they ended up loving it in the end.
Just a little while after this single was heard by the world, 5SOS announced an even bigger project they were working on. This project turned out to be their second studio album, Sounds Good, Feels Good.
“We looked at who we were appealing to, and we wanted to make a difference and sing about things that make them feel good and make them maybe understand themselves a little better. We made an album to sort of stick with them and be a part of their youth,” drummer Ashton Irwin said in an interview with radio talk show host Elvis Duran when asked about what made them write the album.
With fast paced pop-punk jams like “Safety Pin” and “Fly Away,” and slower rock ballads such as “Jet Black Heart” and “Vapor,” this album shows a great diversity with different types of rock songs.
Many people even connect the message of their song “Permanent Vacation” to Green Day’s “American Idiot.” On this track, guitarist and vocalist Michael Clifford sings lyrics such as “your imitations / are taking over the radio stations” and “I say 9 to 5 is overrated / and we all fall down.” The song talks about being sick of having the same day to day work schedule and just wanting to get away from everything, while Green Day’s popular anthem discusses not wanting the nation to be run by.. idiots, basically. Both songs attack controversial topics faced in today’s society and go against the social norms.
The sound differs from 5SOS’s first album, 5 Seconds of Summer, and fans would agree. On their first studio album, released in 2014, the songs have an obvious pop vibe. However, when listening to Sounds Good, Feels Good the immediate energy the listener receives is much more rock.
“It has more of a rockish tone to it, I would say. In my opinion, with this album, they really knew what type of music they wanted to produce and they emphasized what type of band they are,” Hillcrest High School junior Jacqueline Vega said.
Overall, 5 Seconds of Summer released another successful album a little over a year after their first. Lead vocalist Luke Hemmings, guitarist Michael Clifford, bassist Calum Hood, and drummer Ashton Irwin are all very proud of how this album came out, and are excited to play it for fans on their upcoming 2016 tour Sounds Live, Feels Live.
