I have so many thoughts, I don’t even know where to begin, y’all. I swear if this band releases one more track that’s this caliber of genuine perfection, I’m committing myself to an insane asylum. Diagnosis: clinically obsessed.
Let’s begin by acknowledging how deliciously prophetic the introduction is. Seriously. Listen to that shit about twenty times before moving on to the rest of the song. It’s fucking magic.
The casual and swanky groove with the very intentional and decisive beat is the fabric with which heaven itself was woven. Don’t even get me started on the climax--and sweet baby Jesus to I mean it when I say climax. The guitars and drums sync so wondrously it’s like watching divinity unravel. Let’s put it this way--the only type of sexual pleasure I’ve experienced that feels better than this introduction was self served. I’m not even fucking kidding.
The instrumentals are so crystal fucking crisp that they’re comparable to those perfectly cupped, mind-numbing, jaw-dropping, skin-tingling movie slaps. Anyone seen that episode of Sons of Anarchy where Tara slaps Jax for not acknowledging her in front of Wendy? THAT slap? Yeah...that’s what this intro feels like.
The raw aggressivity with which Irwin beats the fuck out of those drums gives me so much life. It’s like watching history being made. That man had one mission: fuck. this. shit. up. And he succeeded in every conceivable way.
Ugh, and the dancing. The way these men let the music move them physically is so intoxicating. I’m not even meaning this in a fetishizing way--I’m seriously talking about how intense it is in terms of the audience experiencing this song to see how the beat and the rhythm physically move the band. When you watch them, there are no planned or choreographed movements. Their actions are intentional, but only in the sense that they’re allowing the music to flow through them in a very out-of-body kind of way. They’re possessed by whatever consciousness this track has created, and it’s stunning to see on screen.
We get a brief pause, and then we’re graced with the (vocal) presence of what I swear is a mother fucking angel. I’m not entirely convinced that I wouldn’t just straight up die for Luke Hemmings’ voice. Don’t get me wrong, All Time Low is and will forever be my ultimate band, but Hemming’s vocals strike a very specific chord in my emotional psyche. It’s like I have no effing control over my thoughts or actions. His voice has the power to make me feel in a very particular and deliberate way even when I’m not consciously looking to confront any of my issues.
I think that’s the power of this band, to be perfectly honest. Any notably vocal performers and/or groups are regarded for their abilities to touch human emotions (Kelly Clarkson with “Breakaway,” Adele with “Hello,” Christina Aguilera with “Beautiful,” The 1975 with “Robbers,” Whitney Houston with “I Will Always Love You,” you get the picture). But what THIS band brings to the table that one of these other artists do are FOUR. TALENTED. FUCKING. VOICES. All with different vibes. All reaching different audiences, different fans in those diversely existential ways.
Take the song “Who Do You Love,” for instance. It’s boppy, it’s catchy, it’s depressing, all fairly decent in terms of new singles. What absolutely kills me with spectacular awe, however, is their live performance on Jimmy Fallon. I’m dead fucking serious, my heart just about beat the fuck out of my chest when I heard it for the first time. Those are the voices of pure motherfucking GODS, okay?
This post is supposed to be on “Easier,” but I just started playing “WDYL” and now I gotta take us on a brief tangent. Apologies. #SorryNotSorry #SeriouslyImNotSorry
We don’t hear much from Irwin exclusively in this particular track, but this straight-up vocal performance by the other three members is life changing. First we get Hemmings… dear sweet Hemmings. I’m still recovering from “Lie To Me,” to be perfectly honest. (If you haven’t read the existential crisis that video put me through, I encourage you to ride down that depressing rabbit hole. If not for me, for the lulz.) I swear, we just can’t seem to get away from soul-crushing heartache for this lad. Someone get this man a drink, for fucks sake.
Hood comes in with a positively guarded yet seductive low tone for his verse, then smacks me upside the fucking head with a goosebump-inducing falsetto. First time I heard this, I almost cried. Y’all ever hear these guys’ vocals and just wanna hug them? Not even to comfort them, but like, to comfort yourself? ‘Cause now you’re depressed? And you don’t know how to handle it? And their voices? Just? Make? It? Worse? Cool, glad we’re on the same page.
This dude legit fucks me up sometimes, especially in the live performances. Y’all heard the live version of “Babylon” from the Meet You There tour? (Easily one of their greatest live songs in the history of their fucking career, btw.) In the last repetition of the chorus, right after Hemmings shouts at the crowd to get their hands up, both Hemmings and Hood sing the lyric, “Babylon,” but then Hood follows it with this spine-tingling "yeah" that tastes so damn sweet I almost wrecked my fucking car from pure shock when I first noticed it. This paired with Irwin’s absolutely fantastic drumming for the intro and every chorus just make this song a million times better.
And then there’s Clifford. The FF Peasant himself. Blessing us with his emotional prowess and musical talent. Grinding what little bit of sanity I have left into dust. Successfully shattering any and all hopes I had of moving on and obsessing over a different band. Thanks for that…
His rendition of the bridge fleshes out the versatility of this track. The sentiments and ideas presented feel very familiar to a lot of us, but the way each of these vocalists articulates this pain through their own unique sound almost personalizes it in a way. It brings a variety of audiences into it in a much more intimate and meaningful way, because different audiences can hear their specific pain from whoever is singing at any given moment.
I adore every member of this group, but Hemmings is my guide through whatever fuckery gets thrown my way. His voice is like a shining light that inexplicably forces me to confront whatever it is I’m running from, but keeps me from drowning in the overwhelming depths of what those emotions carry with them.
It sounds weird trying to put all of this into words. Hell, I’m sure it sounds even weirder reading it on paper (or a screen, whatever), but this is what I believe made Youngblood such an iconic piece. Each of the members’ specific vocal capabilities genuinely strike fans differently-- and depending on the personality, taste, experiences, hell I don’t know, maybe the damn astrological sign of each fan, those vocals actually speak volumes beyond the lyrics themselves.
I listen to Hemmings’ voice, and I hear my own insecurities playing the lead in the operatic production these men have crafted with their careers. I hear a performance that shows me where I’m going wrong. I hear a perspective that illustrates my frustrations and my fears in comprehensible terms. I hear a person who is somehow able to contextualize the abstract, and make real for me what I was convinced was only in my head. I hear longing. I hear hope. I hear pain. I hear a soul that’s decidedly unwilling to go gentle into that good night. I hear myself saying it’s time to get the fuck back up and make today my bitch.
That’s what I hear when Hemmings’ voice pours out of my speakers.
Back to “Easier” -- let’s talk about the psychedelic mind-fuck that encapsulates the music video for this rendition of their latest single. Gone are the days of BDSM subtext vibes; we’ve graduated to full blown drug-induced rave epiphanies. God bless.
On the subject of the importance of music videos, I cannot adequately express how completely the experience of a song changes when you add a visual element to a sonically powerful performance piece. Seeing the way these men are so lost and so singularly focused on conveying not just the themes and/or sentiments of the lyrics, but of the actual music itself is riveting to behold. It’s a whole experience. God forbid you’re watching it on an 80-inch TV with bass-heavy headphones and holy shit, you’ve been transported to another dimension. Good fucking night.
What I find interesting is that, in the grand scheme of this band’s work, this isn’t even one of my favorite songs. It’s probably in the top ten, might peak in the top five depending on my mood on any given day, but that doesn’t detract from how phenomenal this piece is. It’s such an interesting, well-crafted track. It’s brilliant. It’s layered. It’s different. It’s experimental. And it has a tangible personality, like an aura or attitude that has an almost physical feel to it.
It speaks volumes--not just in the context of the lyrics, but in the progress and future of this group. Mixed feelings about The Chainsmokers aside, I’m stoked to watch 5SOS perform this song live in November.
