Move over One Direction, there are new boys in town making teenage girls scream with desire. Luke Hemmings on lead vocals and guitar, Calum Hood on vocals and bass, Michael Clifford on vocals and guitar and Ashton Irwin on vocals and drums are the world’s newest teen craze. Learn their names because these quirky school dropouts from down under are here to stay.
Australian pop-punk band 5 Seconds of Summer is taking over American airwaves this summer with a catchy song called “She Looks So Perfect.” With their album being released soon and a VMA performance scheduled at the end of August, there’s no telling how far they’ll go.
Their self-titled first album has been out in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand since June, but it was just released in North America on July 22 and it is already listed as number one on the iTunes charts despite only being out for such a short time. That’s because 5SOS, as they’re known to their fans, found fame before the release of their album.
Via: fanpop.com
Having friends in such high places as well as having musical talent has launched these boys into the position to take over the charts.
Discovered in 2011 by One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer is 2014’s answer to Blink-182 and other popular punkish bands of the early 2000s that came out as an alternative to the boy band craze. The four boys in the band (yes I say “boys” because they are only eighteen and nineteen years old) play all of their own instruments and tend to choose a rock sound that is insanely catchy rather than one that is purely pop.
Their album was written by the boys and some famous friends like All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth and the Madden brothers of Good Charlotte. It opens with the band’s catchy summer single “She Looks So Perfect” and continues along that same theme of upbeat and catchy songs that are perfect to sing along to in the car.
Via: amazonaws.com
However, with the song “Kiss Me, Kiss Me,” there are notes of something different. It begins like any other with catchy music and lyrics, but by the end it breaks into an intense guitar and drum mixture that has a flicker of something a little edgier. Then, they return to the pop sound. Still, that flicker of edge is what keeps me wanting more.
The boys even experiment with a more acoustic side of their musical talents on the album with “Amnesia.” The song is about a bad breakup, and they croon about wanting to “wake up with amnesia and forget about the stupid little things.” Their voices are rough and unpolished, which creates an interesting sound that is worthy of any pop-punk band.
With a slew of North American performances scheduled on One Direction’s Where We Are tour, America has only seen the beginning of what 5SOS is going to bring to the table. Their humility, quirky personalities, and love for their fans are why they’ll be sticking around for a while. Not too shabby for a few Australian underdogs.
Their self-titled album is available in stores and online now. Notable tracks: “Kiss Me, Kiss Me,” “Long Way Home,” “Amnesia,” and “Social Casualty.”
Featured photo courtesy of: ilovefreeconcerts.com
