I've never been cool, so the thought of losing status does absolutely nothing to me. I know, that's a first sentence that's practically soliciting a reassuring comment, but trust me, I understand and fully embrace my dorkdom. It doesn't matter what I wear, listen to, watch, eat, say, or do because I'm still a soft-spoken pop culture nerd with a whole lot to say. In my earlier years, I was more concerned with appearances, but with age comes a whole lot of unexpected freedom.
Unfortunately, Maroon 5 has been losing some serious cool points over the last few years. The Los Angeles fivesome, once the toast of the music industry with their unique brand of pop-soul-rock, hasn't been at the center of the cultural zeitgeist in quite some time. Of course, not every artist can stay at the zenith of their career for an extended time, but it's been interesting to watch a band go from domination to almost being washed up in the span of three albums.
Fortunately on their third studio album, the recently released Hands All Over, there are a handful of tracks that bring back the type of excitement that their debut elicited. The title track is beautifully dark, a growling and electronic call for physical attention that is almost primal in its execution. It doesn't lose the pop edge that the group is known for (the sweaty hook is one of my favorites on the album), but it dirties up their sound enough to make their music more interesting. Hands has such a grind to it that Levine's swaggering performance fits right in, the headstrong lyrics giving him enough opportunity to play around. Don't Know Nothing may sound like it could have had a place on their underwhelming sophomore effort It Won't Be Soon Before Long, but it works well here, as it brings back some of the soulful, retro elements that the group tends to execute well. It's not as "committed" to the sound as, say, Makes Me Wonder, but this slick uptempo about a fractured, dysfunctional relationship really works from a lyrical standpoint. That may be the area of their music where the group takes more chances, but anytime there's some actual complexities and complications is a total plus; here, there's a constant push/pull that's intriguing and with the swirling organ and heavy bass, it's a solid atmosphere to watch that dynamic be explored. I Can't Lie dials back the production a touch (Mutt Lange handles most of the board work here and a good portion of the record ends up sounding neutered and faceless) and actually has some life to it. With slight similarities to Sunday Morning, it's got that fresh faced, carefree vibe to it that plays into their safe image without sacrificing all sense of artistry. Adding in some new elements to the album gives it nice texture (the piano is subtle but effective and the 60s-ish background vocals are a nice tweak) and it's just one of those listens that may not be the most exciting thing in the world but it's charming and feel good.
Featuring current "it" group Lady Antebellum, Out of Goodbyes is a picture perfect definition of an unnecessary duet. It's not an awful song; you get some stripped away production (finally!) and an admittedly quite pretty melody, but everything just feels so crowded. Nevermind the fact that this could easily go on a Lady Antebellum album in the future (I will place money on there being a Need You Now re-release with this being a bonus track), but such an understated, plaintive song would have been much more effective with Levine's vocal only. I understand the need to sell records in such a bad market, but at least make your pandering less blatant, guys. How is a bland, overproduced bit of music that seems too much like a track that was cut from Songs About Jane. Again, it's not awful or offensively done; it's just such a non-entity (and a disheartening step back from a group who used to be multi-faceted and at least somewhat creative). The production drowns out any semblance of a melody, especially on the extremely limp hook, and there's no sense of drama. It's only loud, louder, and loudest, which isn't that compelling to listen to. There's a nice track in there somewhere, but how are you supposed to find it? Runaway makes a few interesting, positive choices but is such a disappointment. For such a pop/radio oriented group, Maroon 5 has some pretty weak hooks on Hands All Over, present track included. Not every track needs to have THIS IS A SINGLE in neon lettering or anything, but it'd be nice to be able to remember more than a few tracks on the record after multiple listens. Though there's some irritating keyboard work that's cheesy and too 80s and reckless ad libs, it had the potential to be decent. This is just one of the few tracks on the record where the reaction to their last album is evident; they went to the Jane well a few too many times and even those tracks aren't that great. Lesson? It's all about execution.
Hands All Over is one more step toward the land of mediocrity for Maroon 5, where they'll join The Fray and One Republic as permanent fixtures on VH1 playlists and the soundtrack to the average suburban soccer mom's misadventures. What promise they showed on Songs About Jane is largely diminished here (they're not nearly as rockin', creative, or soulful); when they're not offering neutered adult contemporary fluff, they're trying to recapture the magic of their debut album through limp retreads that seem to drag on endlessly. There are a few moments here that show the creative fire in the quintet isn't yet distinguished, but your hands are better left off this bland excuse for a comeback album.
0 comments:
Post a Comment