Yesterday, the Los Angeles pop quintet Maroon 5 dropped their third studio album, Hands All Over. And let me tell you, you will be all over this one.
It’s been a while since teenage hearts were graced with the soulful seduction of Songs About Jane, but these boys seem to have held onto the energy they’ve been known for since the beginning. The album kicks off to a catchy start with the album’s first single, “Misery,” which reminds uhas of everything the band has done in the past, in the best way.
The second track on the album, “Give A Little More,” the album’s second single released last month, won’t grab audiences as hard as “Misery” does, but it carries a stellar dance rhythm throughout the track, putting it up there in the top tracks off this album. Also in this group are “Stutter,” with a slower-moving, laid-back feel; and “Don’t Know Nothin,'” the fourth track with a Motown-esque air. This all shows that the most strength in the album is concentrated in the very beginning, which causes the album’s engine to run out of gas just over halfway through, with the exception of the final track.
As is typical for singer-songwriter Adam Levine, many of these tunes have strong sexual undertones which are usually brought to light in the band’s music videos, although nobody said this was a bad thing. The title track can be found mid-album, titled “Hands All Over,” in which Levine begins by begging repeatedly, “Put your hands/ all over/ put your hands all over me.”
The band recorded this album with producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who is best-known for his work with Def Leppard and Shania Twain, at his studio in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Levine says Lange made them work harder than ever, calling what was a finished song in Levine’s eyes a “good start,” but Levine is grateful for this. Hands All Over has a much brighter sound than previous Maroon 5 works. It also shows much more strength in the pop music style, whereas before, these artists pulled style out of different genres, such as R&B.
What sets this album apart from previous Maroon 5 works is the concluding track, “Out of Goodbyes,” featuring Lady Antebellum. This track takes this quintessential pop album and makes it a little bit country, not to mention showing off Levine’s secret soft side. Levine and the members of Lady Antebellum sing a back-and-forth he-said-she-said story about a painful breakup that shows the true diverse talent of this pop singer.
This album isn’t perfect – some tracks are entirely forgettable, and a few may be classified as borderline annoying (“Just a Feeling,” and “Get Back In My Life,” which sound like something 98 Degrees released in the ’90s) – but it makes enough of an impact on listeners to prove that this is not exactly the same band who gave us “Harder to Breathe” and “This Love” way back when. We’re officially excited to see what they do next.
4 out of 5 stars
