Single Review: 5 Seconds Of Summer – ‘Good Girls’
2 min read
5 Seconds Of Summer are NOT a boy band. And they want you to know it. Did you know they write their own music? And play their own instruments? This music writing, playing and performing group consisting of only young men, is absolutely NOT a boy band. And furthermore they are NOT One Direction. They also want you to know that. This music writing, playing and performing group consisting of only young men may have been given a boost in their career by being promoted by 1D and supporting them on not one, but two world tours is absolutely NOT One Direction. Now that we’re clear on that, let’s have a look at the new 1D single, Good Girls. I mean 5SOS. Dammit!
With their fourth single from self titled debut album, the boys from Sydney dabble in the area of desirable female behaviour with Good Girls. The hook yells Good girls are bad girls / that haven’t been caught over a huge chorus of crashing guitars and a half timed beat. I’ll resist the temptation to thank the boys for expressing their opinion on female behaviour, or delve into how Emma Watson would feel about their Female Reform School spin in the single’s video and keep it about the music, but for the record I’ll just put this here – #feminist
Speaking of school, the Aussie boys tend to hail from the Iggy Azalea school of pronunciation with their overly American delivery of the singing parts, see “Harvard” or “Ask”, contrasting the boyish charm of their native accents on the few spoken lines in the track. Similarly, they have taken a page from the Avril Lavigne book of marketing, with their domineering pop sound wrapped in a nice little punk bow, conveniently inviting fans of both worlds to come screaming at their feet. There’s nothing new about that; Good Charlotte, McFly and Busted have all seen success with this style of branding and 1D are bringing it to a new generation. 5SOS! Sorry!
Despite my reservations in lyrical content and an overly perfected, shiny pop-punk branding package, Good Girls is fun and catchy. Plenty of “doo-doo-doo’s” and “whoa-oh’s” to keep the masses singing along. It’s cool, I’ve just heard it all before. Not to take anything away from 5SOS (got it!), they are bringing this package to an audience of screaming girls that may not have heard it. I recently heard No Doubt on GOLDFM, my local “oldies” radio station, so it’s no surprise I’m a little over the hill for this one, but they do the pop-punk thing well and it’s cool to see it having a resurgence. Good on ya boys, you’re a very good music writing, playing and performing group consisting of only young men.
