5 Seconds Of Summer 5SOS5

5 Seconds of Summer’s debut merges bubblegum pop, commercial punk rock and teen angst with a spirit that teeters on rebelliousness, albeit with a PG rating. “Good girls are bad girls that haven’t been caught,” they sing in “Good Girls”, while their track 18 begins: “I wish that I was eighteen to do/All the things you read in a magazine/I’m not saying I wanna be Charlie Sheen.” “Heartbreak Girl”, meanwhile, is the story of a guy stuck in the friendzone. When the Sydney quartet released their debut in 2014, the debate over whether they were ‘real’ or a manufactured boy band dominated press coverage. Those who claimed the latter pointed to their relationship with One Direction (with whom they shared management and several tours); those who defended their authenticity cited the fact they play their own instruments, co-write their songs, and work with respected artists such as All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth (who co-penned “Kiss Me Kiss Me”, “End Up Here” and “Long Way Home”) and Good Charlotte’s Joel and Benji Madden (“Amnesia”). Years later, none of those arguments matter—5SOS’s debut is simply a stellar moment in time, a sugar rush of pop-punk anthems and adolescent tales of romance reflecting the group’s youth.