During their touring break due to the pandemic, Five Seconds of Summer got time to reflect on their past musical career and create a new album, Blender, an introspective album looking back on their rise to fame. After around 2 years of working, the album was released on September 23rd.

Growing up under the shadow of Green Day, the band was inspired to create pop-punk music for its audience. Since more young pop singers are taking the mainstream now, they wished Blender could convey the idea of saving pop-punk, while integrating more realistic emotion into the music.

The lead single “Complete Mess,” composed with a 2000’s alt-rock style and a stream-of-consciousness like lyrics, invoked a sense of nostalgia. Like the music video, the heavy guitar and drum solos used in the composition render a feeling of awe while the inconsistent use of calm instrumentals before each chorus correlate more with the sober lyrics.

Another earlier released single “Take My Hand” reflects more directly about the band’s journey from young teens to rock stars. The repeating phrase “take my hand” in the chorus makes it like a conversation between the singer and the fans, emphasizing their close-knit relationships.

Songs like “Older” and “Red Line” illustrate some relatively emotive personal stories. While “Older” describes lovers who do not want to leave their partner as their age passes, “Red Line” tells a story about a couple who find themselves not good for each other anymore and who feel like running away. Both songs are worded to build a strong emotional connection with the listener.

“Easy For You To Say” continues their lovely-vocal style, with simple beats and tempo running through the whole song. Combined with the storytelling lyrics which sings, “this nostalgia in my bones,” it draws the audience into their intriguing memory, and a review of all the times they have felt lost on their path to fame.

Being a pop-punk band, the members are good at using heavy beats to create the bubblegum pop sounds, a ​​music genre hinged on upbeat melodies, simple lyrics with sing-along choruses, and danceable rhythms. This can be found in songs including “Best Friends,” “Flatline,” and “TEARS!.” Those songs allowed the band to remain the mainstream influences among pop music.

There are  20 songs in the album track listing including an acoustic version of the lead single “Take My Hand.” All  produced by the four members,  BLENDER is all about the band’s intent of coming back to the basics of music.