Not long ago, the former pop-punk band 5 Seconds of Summer released new music that shocked fans everywhere.

The Australian mainstream pop group — made up of lead vocalist Luke Hemmings, drummer Ashton Irwin, guitarist Michael Clifford and bassist Calum Hood — had just starting gaining mainstream recognition in the American music industry when they went dead silent musically for three years after the release of their third album “Sounds Good Feels Good.”
However, the four made a comeback in February with their new single “Want You Back” and have finally given fans another taste of their “new style,” releasing the title track of their upcoming album “Youngblood” which is set to be released June 22.

The new track follows in the footsteps of its predecessor “Want You Back,” showcasing a new sound that basically reinvents the band as we know it.

While most fans who know the band were accustomed to heavy guitar and drum instrumentals in previous works, this new music shows a more contemporary pop style heavily influenced by mainstream artists and writers, as the band composed “Youngblood” with the same team behind Camila Cabello’s “Havana.”

However, the new song also follows “Want You Back” in its more negative aspects, such as the lack of group vocals. The band previously featured all the boys’ unique and powerful voices, but in their transition to a newer sound, have left fans swept away by the solo vocals of Hemmings but saddened by the lack of group presence vocally.

Now, I am not one to complain about the rough-around-the-edges, but ultimately stunning voice of Hemmings, but one of the main elements of the band has been taken away from the audio aspect of the performance.

I was one among many who had hoped to hear a re-emergence of group vocals after “Want You Back,” but this minor change did not stop me from applauding 5SOS on the real star of the show: lyrics.

The brilliant thing about following this band since its creation in 2011 is being able to see the change in the band’s art. The boys have always put out wonderful lyrics, and teenage life was very much an influence in their earlier music. Their new music, however, is definitely an exploration of their new maturity. Their lyrics are raw and bare; they are the embodiment of emotion and life in the real world versus in teenage dreams.

As stated by the boys many times, this is the first album they’ve really written as adults, and it’s absolutely beautiful in this tragic but compelling way. Many of the subjects they write and compose about are the same, but the emotion has changed, which is evident in “Youngblood” and most likely will be in the album as well.