After what feels like FOREVER (okay, so a year and a half), Australian pop-punk quartet 5 Seconds of Summer finally released some new music. Earlier this month, the band began teasing us on social media, showing us a behind-the-scenes look and even joking about when the third album will be released. Luckily on Feb. 23, 5SOS debuted their first single off the upcoming album, titled “Want You Back.”
While the song is a slight departure from their previous work with a more electro background and even some *explicit* lyrics, lyrically and instrumentally, the song is a nod to their roots with emotive lyrics (a la “Amnesia”) and incredible instrumental build-ups (think “Disconnected”). It’s true to the 5 Seconds of Summer sound, just a little more grown up. It’s clear the band wanted to put careful time and effort into their third album, and “Want You Back” proves that.
It’s not just the album that’s going back to 5SOS’s roots either. In addition to premiering their new single, the boys also announced that they would be going on tour. Not just any tour though, an intimate tour featuring small venues, including Boston’s very own Paradise Rock Club. Paradise Rock Club’s 933-person capacity is quite the jump from the 20,000-person capacity venues 5SOS have played in the past. While this mirrors the small venues they played five years ago before their debut album was released, I’m curious to see how they will adapt to the small space considering how much they’ve grown since.
While it’s nice when bands sound the exact same as when they debuted, the chances of that happening are unlikely. People (musicians included) grow and change everyday. Music would be pretty boring if all artists sounded exactly the same, all the time.
*All images courtesy of 5 Second of Summer’s Twitter.