In a society where songs like “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry and “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz rule the Billboard Top 100, it makes sense that Maroon 5’s newest sickeningly cliché pop album, Hands All Over, has topped the charts.
Hands All Over, released September 21, is the third album produced by Maroon 5. Songs About Jane, released in 2002, was the pop band’s first album and started their ascent into pop superstardom. Their sophomore album, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, was another chart-topping success.
This band must have been doing something right as they have won six Grammy’s and have sold over fifteen million albums worldwide. However, Maroon 5 has almost completely changed their sound, and not for the better.
The music industry has become more and more about mindless beats than touching and heartfelt pieces of poetry. Hands All Over fits perfectly into the unintelligent and thoughtless mold that pop music has conformed to.
On Maroon 5’s official website, they advertised their new album as being “a killer hybrid of rock, pop, funk, and R&B.” But Hands sounds more like a desperate attempt to invade the airwaves.
The lead single on the album, “Misery,” has an overpoweringly catchy beat that too easily gets stuck in your head and refuses to leave. The lyrics are as shallow and meaningless as they can get.
With lines like “Girl you really got me bad, you really got me bad. I’m gonna get you back, gonna get you back” being constantly repeated to the point of aggravation, it’s a wonder as to how the song even made it onto the radio.
Their second single, “Give a Little More,” is hardly any better. It also has shallow lyrics and a constant refrain. The beat for this single would be more at home in 1974. The song has a striking resemblance to disco funk, and most people were happy when disco died, and hope to keep it that way.
The album does hit a high note when it comes to the song “I Can’t Lie.” It has a smooth sound, and sticks to Maroon 5’s pop roots, with a little twist. The lyrics are also a little more genuine which makes the listener feel less guilty about indulging in a sugary sweet pop song.
Most of the other songs on the album blend together in a seamless quilt of guitar, bass, and vocals. The tracks sound so much alike that when not paying close attention, it can be impossible to decipher where one song ends and another begins.
Maroon 5 fails to deliver an album worthy of making it onto millions of iPods with Hands All Over. The album provides nothing unique or unprecedented with their newest album. Hands All Over is nothing but a standard pop album that any band could have made.
I give Hands All Over a 2 out of 5.
