An Absolutely Subjective, Song-by-Song Review of 5SOS's "CALM"

I am all about an Australian band called 5 Seconds of Summer (I type as I sit here in a t-shirt I ordered off their website). It’s an obsession I’m not necessarily shy about. So even though I’m over two months late in writing this, here are my thoughts on their fourth album, CALM.

1. “Red Desert”

I absolutely adore this song. Throughout the song, the beat and the energy escalates, turning it from a quiet ode into a head-banging anthem. The chorus just gives me these vibes of… You know that scene in Tangled when the whole village is dancing in the square, and Rapunzel ends up spinning around in the middle, just soaking in the moment? That. That’s the feeling. That’s what it makes me wanna do. And it’s a beautiful song dedicated to their homeland of Australia, so you know it’s meaningful.

2. “No Shame”

This song was the third single released off the album. I was anticipating and anticipating it after finding a frustratingly false release date online, but it was worth the wait. It functions as a critique of society’s shallow nature, which everyone is guilty of. However, it is also very catchy and upbeat. The funky beat and great vocals make this song an absolute hit.

3. “Old Me”

This song is pretty chill. It’s all about growth and change, and the music video is adorable; it reminisces on nostalgic 5SOS moments throughout the band’s history. It is fun to spot all the small details they included for their fans. I think this one is really relatable to anyone of any age because we’ve all made mistakes, but it’s about accepting them because they got us where we are today.

4. “Easier”

This was the very first single that 5SOS released off the album. It deviated from the band’s previous styles, but they like to experiment rather than being defined by one genre. It has a good beat, and it is simultaneously layered and simple. I like the sound and can still bop to it, even if it has been played a lot.

5. “Teeth”

Probably my favorite off the album, the second single surprised me in that it (seemingly) came out of nowhere. I probably listened to this song fifty times the day it released. This one is a little heavier and more rock-ish, and each individual sound (drums, bass, guitar, and vocals) is incredible, both individually and as a part of the whole. And it has a very cool, weird music video, so that’s always a bonus.

6. “Wildflower”

The band literally dropped this song two days before the album came out. It was the one that had the longest clip in their promo video, so I was very excited to hear the whole thing. It’s a very fun song, and the music video done from home during quarantine really reflects that (dogs, anyone?), as does the fact that it is the only TikTok dance that I willingly learned. Also, this is Calum’s song, with him doing the majority of the vocals instead of Luke, and he absolutely killed it.

7. “Best Years”

This one’s ballad-like, and typically I’m not a slow song girl. However, this one is really sweet and heartfelt, as 5SOS’s tend to be, so I can still enjoy it, even though it isn’t my favorite. It is calming (hehe, get my joke?), and I think it really built off their previous ballads and sad songs.

8. “Not in the Same Way”

This is a fun song. The fans have jokingly referred to the chorus as Luke “rapping” because of the way he sings it. It is catchy and upbeat, but it also has an emotional component in talking about a turbulent relationship.

9. “Lover of Mine”

There is almost an...elegance to this song. It is beautiful and simple and full of raw emotion. It starts out slow, but picks up by the second verse, filling in with more instruments in the background and growing in intensity. It ends with an instrumental section, emphasizing the piano which was so central to the song, and tying up the ending very neatly.

10. “Thin White Lies”

This one’s another favorite. The chorus is full of energy, and it feels very subtly in-your-face, if that makes any sense. There is also an idea of an identity crisis, signaled in the words “can someone tell me who I was before”, which counters the vibe of the song a little bit.

11. “Lonely Heart”

This is another one that combines a more somber message with an upbeat composition for balance. It has a pretty simple chorus, but my favorite part is the chanting of “lonely, it ain’t nothin’ new, nothin’ new to me, nothin’ new to you” before the final chorus. It’s sort of a uniting line to connect people and remind us that we aren’t alone.

12. “High”

This is on par with how 5SOS ends the non-deluxe versions of their albums. This is a spot occupied on other albums by “Amnesia”, “Outer Space/Carry On”, and “Ghost of You”, unless you get an extended version. What does this mean? It means this song is a poignant ballad that tugs at your emotions, and most of the time it is a song about lost love. “High” is no exception. It is melodic, and it takes sounds used back on their first album and reuses them in a more mature and developed way.

13. “Kill My Time”

I’ve only heard this one a couple times because it is neither on my CD nor on Spotify (September edit: they added it to Spotify!!), which is really unfortunate because it’s a great song. It has a really strong beat, and I could bop to this song all day long. Like “Easier”, there is something about this song that differentiates its sound from most of the band’s other material. And like several other songs on the album, it features an awesome instrumental section that I can truly just vibe to.

14. “Easier (Live From the Vault)”

This is a heavier, more rock-style version of “Easier”, and as much as I like the original version of the song, I prefer this one. There are some epic drums in here, and 5SOS just sounds really good live, so it’s a win.

15. “Teeth (Live From the Vault)”

Not gonna lie, there’s not a whole lot of difference between the two versions of “Teeth”. It’s already a hardcore song, so they couldn’t get the same effect doing it “live from the vault” as they could with “Easier”. It still sounds good when it’s raw like this, but the studio version is better.

16. “No Shame (Live From the Vault)”

The live version of “No Shame” is in between the other two. The difference from the studio version is more obvious than it is with “Teeth”, but it isn’t necessarily better. This version is bouncier though and has more instrumental solos, but the overall vibe doesn’t really change.

Just listening back through this time around, I discovered how prevalent the theme of loneliness is within this album. It’s very powerful and adds a whole new depth of meaning to what is personally my favorite 5SOS album. I know that my ending probably sounded negative, but there isn’t one song on this album that I dislike. It was definitely a highlight and a comfort during quarantine, and I will probably continue to favor it over any other CD in my car for the rest of the summer.

This post was inspired by a friend of mine, who wrote a similar piece about Harry Styles's newest album. If interested, you can read it here: https://www.whsdigital.com/post/a-probably-biased-song-by-song-review-of-fine-line.