5 Seconds of Summer

When it comes to bands that started off as teenagers, we often see their growing up phase through their music and how it becomes more mature. Through this album, we've got the chance to listen to more serious songs by 5 Seconds of Summer. One of them is "Youngblood"- the lead single for the same named album. The song describes relationships' ups and downs. It starts with the following lines:
"Remember the words you told me
"Love me 'til the day I die"
Surrender my everything
'Cause you made me believe you're mine"
which 5 Seconds of Summer band members described as the beginning of the relationship, being young and thinking your first love would last forever and believing the promises your loved one gave you. The next lines are about the current bad times in relationship:
"Yeah, you used to call me baby
Now you're calling me by name"
where romantic names fade away and Michael described it as: "That’s my favorite lyric in the whole song, that lyric for me makes it feel so much more personified as far as living in that moment. So that line to me has always felt so powerful." and many fans agreed to that. Lyrics are written from boys’ perspective and they kind of tell the story we have all seen before: a boy who plays with girls' hearts and ends up getting hurt after he actually falls in love, which can be seen in the next lines:
"Takes one to know one, yeah
You beat me at my own damn game"
which one of the band members described as: "And then the next lyric for me is like you know, I’ve been a piece of shit before and I recognize the way you’re throwing me out. I can feel you’re done with me and I’ve done that to people in the past but it hurts when it’s flipped so that’s what that lyrics about." One word: karma.
"You push and you push and I'm pulling away
Pulling away from you
I give and I give and I give and you take
Give and you take"
now it's about the time where they are breaking up although something pulls them together again and it feels like they can't get away from each other:
"Lately our conversations
End like it's the last goodbye
Then one of us gets too drunk
And calls about a hundred times"
Youngblood sounds like a really powerful word. You can actually imagine a person when you hear that word and 5 Seconds of Summer boys are identifying themselves with that word as they write this song or all of them on his album.

Song "Want You Back" is about not being able to get over your loved one and always wanting them back in your life. Regrets are usually something that follows unsuccessful love stories but these regrets are bit different because they feel regrets for things they haven't done for their loved ones and asking themselves where they went wrong, what they did to make their loved ones leave them. It's a song full of different emotions and it has such a powerful vibe. I like the sound so much and how they opened up about love as young men. It's so beautiful to hear songs from men's perspective where they dream about their girls and remembering small details:
"I remember the freckles on your back
And the way that I used to make you laugh"
and this totally reminds me of their song "Amnesia" where they also wrote about remembering small details. They made a sad love story to sound so beautiful! You know you love someone when they are the first thought in your head as soon as you wake up:
"'Cause you know every morning I wake up
Yeah, I still reach for you"
Luke Hemmings takes the lead on this track with the other members of 5 Seconds of Summer provide backing vocals.

Song "Lie To Me" by 5 Seconds of Summer is definitely something to cry to. The melody and sound are so beautiful and although you might be a part of a happy love story, you will love to listening to this song. I know I definitely do! Their voices are really wonderful and the lyrics are so emotional. I can say I am impressed by the quality of their music lately; they've improved so much and their album Youngblood is definitely more mature than their works before. I love how this song "Lie To Me" shows us the human side of loving and accepting lies because they are comforting while the truth would hurt so bad:
"I know that you don’t, but if I ask you if you love me
I hope you lie, lie, lie, lie, lie to me"
This song is so special to 5 Seconds of Summer boys. Luke admitted it took them so long to finally finish this amazing song: " Breakthrough songs like “Lie to Me” took so long to get to. “Lie to Me” is so unique, and I think that song lyrically and musically, how clever it is, with like mixing the groove with melancholy lyrically with the melody." Ashton told more about the old-school style of the song while discovering by who these vocals were inspired: " I feel like vocally it’s been the first time we’ve been able to get our vocals that have been inspired by artists like the Beach Boys and The Beatles; that old-school style harmony which has obviously always been in people’s hearts but they haven’t known how to relay it in modern pop. I feel elated that we get to give that kind of vocal presentation."
"Now I wish we never met
'Cause you're too hard to forget
While I’m cleaning up your mess
I know he’s taking off your dress"
lines may be related to Luke's relationship with social influencer Arzaylea Rodriguez. After their break up, there have been rumors about her cheating on Luke with R&B artist blackbear.
I think this album will always be one of their best albums ever! Every song has a deep meaning and it's full of beautiful words and lines.

They start their first album with the lead single “She Looks So Perfect.” The song is basically the pop- punk version of “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction, which makes sense since they went on tour together. The song begins the album with a strong bass and prominent percussion, which is a sound the band carries throughout their career. “Don’t Stop” is an upbeat track that is like a party song that contains a chorus that is a bit more pop while the verses are more punk, so the best of both worlds I guess. It is a song that the band intended to be one that you can dance to or sing along with in your car, and they did this by making a song about going to a party and seeing this girl/ boy and being completely infatuated with them and wanting to hang out with this person. The album continues with the fourth single, “Good Girls,” which has an extended title to go on with ‘are bad girls that haven’t been caught.’ The song follows just that idea, the idea that all good girls just have not been caught yet and features a really fun punk pop chorus that is also super catchy. “Kiss Me Kiss Me” is a song that is also quite blatant, it is a fun and flirty track that follows two teens meeting and kissing… Obviously. The track brings the instrumentals in even more and makes them more prominent with not only the intro bit but also the instrumental bridge that features a strong punk vibe. Following it is a bit of a bouncy track that follows teenage love. “18” is a song that talks about the problems of dating in the awkward ages of being an older teenager, but not technically a young adult. The song continues the punk vibe very well while being a super infectious tune and not being too repetitive. The song is the picture of pop punk with the instrumentals as well as the theme and talks of fake ids. “Everything I Didn’t Say” is a song that is not necessarily about getting a lost love back, but more of saying what you need and what you want to so you can both move on. The song is about looking back on a relationship and finding all of your faults in it and wishing you could have done better. The song brings a bit of a slower, more casual tone to the album. It is a bit more on the pop side of the pop punk spectrum but good anyways.

“Beside You” is the next song on the album and it was also previously released on their debut EP, Somewhere New. The song is a super emotional song that follows Drummer, Ashton Irwin leaving his little sister at home to pursue his career. The song is a slower tune and includes a bit of a wavy electronic sound to it, but the next song comes as a bit of a surprise after it. “End Up Here” is the next song on the album and brings us back to a punk sound. The song is about a boy chasing a girl who is out of his league, if you will, and he feels insecure about how he ended up with her as well as her popularity. This song was a song that took me by surprise at first as it is ‘the hardest’ song on the album and a song that I felt was a sound they were trying to capture the whole time. It was my favorite song for the longest time. “Long Way Home” is another song that talks about love, but it talks about the two major loves in their lives, first being their actual loved one and the second being music, of course. This song continues the bit of casual listening but includes some bits of piano as well, it takes us back to the sounds of before “End Up Here,” and as a fan that wanted them to be tagged ‘band’ rather than ‘boy band’ and wanted to see them achieve the sounds they talked about growing up with, the song was a bit of a disappointment. The song was only a slight disappointment in the sense of like progression and placement. When it was released, it felt like it went back to a heavier pop sound when they wanted to be like Blink-182 and Greenday… but the band had to start somewhere, and I am still a big fan so they must have done something right. “Heartbreak Girl” is a song that deals with being put in the friendzone while trying desperately trying to escape it. The song comes from the same era as “Beside You” as it was recorded along with their debut ep, I don’t remember how I listened to it at first because their music was pretty much not available to stream as it was the dark ages before VIBBIDI and such, but anyways. The song is a heavy bass and guitar track that is like a staple for their growth and for hardcore, day 1 fans, a B.O.P. The next song is called “Mrs All American” and basically, it is their version of the oh so popular, “Stacey’s Mom.” The song was an American edition exclusive, for obvious reasons, and shows a possible affair with a married woman seeing as Mrs. implies marriage. The song is a bit of a different one and I remember not liking it too much in the beginning, but it is still pretty good.

The album continues on with a much slower and more emotional song. “Amnesia” is a song that reminisces on a past relationship and the pain of hearing about your ex moving on. It follows the idea of wanting to forget the whole thing so that the pain is not there any longer. The song is the slowest song on the album and is an acoustic ballad that will literally make you sob so hard. “Social Casualty” is a song that follows the idea of being a victim of society, and it talks about avoiding what people expect from you and force upon you. Another song that is one of my favorite songs musically on the album, I feel like this song too captured the sound they were talking so highly about at this point in time. I look back on this song as an OG fan and it makes me so proud to see the progression of their music and the different sounds they tried and went through in order to get where we are now. “Voodoo Doll” is a song that is not quite into a girl but feels connected and attached to her despite his best efforts. This song is one that acts like voodoo for me because it has never really been a favorite of mine, but no matter what I find myself wanting to hear it or singing it… like the theme of the song… weird. “Never Be” is a song that allows the singer to convey his love for someone special and tell this person that he wants to live life with them without fearing taking chances. The song is a bit of a slower tempo song that contains a super infectious and catchy chorus, that for me makes the song memorable, and the same kind of vibe carries into the next song, but more prominent instruments. “Greenlight” is the final song on the album and it features a bit more of a risqué topic. The song follows the idea of the feeling of desire in a relationship for consent.