I’ve always been aware of 5 Seconds of Summer, even if I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a hardcore fan, so going into 5SOS5, I was curious to see what they sounded like at this point in their career. There’s definitely a lot to appreciate here. The production feels mature, atmospheric, and sometimes surprisingly dreamy, and you can tell they’ve grown a lot since their earlier pop-rock days. “Bad Omens” immediately stands out to me, and I also really enjoyed “BLENDER,” “Carousel,” “Haze,” and “You Don’t Go to Parties.” There’s a vulnerability throughout the album that makes some of these songs feel much more personal than I expected. My biggest issue, though, is the length. I’m someone who can get a little impatient when an album goes over an hour, and 5SOS5 definitely tests my attention span. There are songs I like individually that I probably wouldn’t miss if the tracklist were trimmed down a little. I think this album could have been even stronger with a tighter tracklist and a little more editing. That said, I don’t think the length takes away from what 5SOS accomplished here. This feels like a band comfortable with experimenting and showing different sides of themselves rather than trying to recreate their biggest hits. It’s a record that rewards patience, even if I occasionally found myself thinking, “Okay, how many songs are left?” 😂 Overall, 5SOS5 gave me a better appreciation for 5 Seconds of Summer as musicians and songwriters. It’s not an album I’d necessarily listen to from beginning to end every time, but there are plenty of songs here that I’ll definitely be coming back to. Mature, atmospheric, and full of great moments - just a little longer than my attention span would prefer.