Hello! This is another album that I have been waiting for for a long time like I said about Ed Sheeran last time. I've made it no secret that I am a pretty big One Direction fan, and I was lucky enough to see them twice on their last tour (Once I was 10 feet from the stage in the first seat of the closest side section. We're talking even with the front row people. Sorry, I love to talk about that any chance I get.) Seeing One Direction twice meant that I got to see their opening act twice which on that tour was 5 Seconds of Summer. They are also hitting the road with them this year for the One Direction stadium tour. If you aren't a boy band fan, don't write them off just because they are associated with One Direction. They do both make pop music, but I truly don't find them that similar. They aren't a boy band in the typical sense. Sure, they are 4 boys in a band, but they play all the instruments they need (2 guitars, a bass, and the drums) and you won't catch them doing choreography. 5SOS is definitely more on the punk side of things. They were discovered on YouTube by Louis Tomlinson and have now gone on to start their own record label as a branch of Capitol Records. They were really involved in the writing process which is refreshing to see for a band making their debut album. They tend to write in pairs (normally Luke with Calum and Ashton with Michael). The only song that no 5SOS member gets writing credits on is "Amnesia" which was written by the Madden brothers of Good Charlotte fame. Their first official single "She Looks So Perfect" got a lot of radio play, so I'll be interested to see where these guys are headed in the future. I picked up the special Target Deluxe Edition which has 4 exclusive bonus tracks, and you can choose any of 4 differently colored covers. As usual, I'm going to break the album down for you below.

For fans of: All Time Low, One Direction, Good Charlotte

Singles: She Looks So Perfect, Don't Stop, Amnesia

Personal Favorites: Long Way Home, Mrs All American, End Up Here, and the singles

Tracks I Skip: Close as Strangers (I'm not sure why. I just find this one kind of boring).

Anything disappointing: They did a good job including some of the material that has been popular among their fans for a while (Heartbreak Girl, Beside You, Out of My Limit). I do wish they had included more. I was sad to see that Lost Boy and Try Hard weren't included on the American release of this album even as bonus tracks somewhere. Those have been some of my favorites since I saw them on the Take Me Home Tour.

Overall: I don't know about you guys, but I definitely went through a pop punk phase towards the end of middle school and on into high school. All I wanted to listen to was All Time Low, Forever the Sickest Kids, and Fall Out Boy. It was around this time that I started discovering music for myself rather than just listening to whatever was popular on the radio or what my friends liked. This album makes me feel a real nostalgia for that time in my musical history. That is my favorite quality of this album by far. They list All Time Low and Green Day as some of their biggest influences, and you can hear that in their sound. If you went through that phase like I did, this is a great one to pick up. I also think this is a good one to listen to if you are tired of the sound of radio pop music. I'm not saying that they are breaking down walls and changing music forever or anything. I just think that sonically this album is different than what is normally dominating the charts. For me, these boys are a familiar breath of fresh air.

Have you checked out this album yet? If you have, which song is your favorite?

P.S. I started a Facebook page for this blog yesterday, so you can click here to go like it!