It was an interesting time for the popular group Maroon 5. Their previous album Overexposed released in 2012 sold very well and had some massive radio song staples, such as Payphone. This led to Jesse Carmichael’s return to the group, which would have no doubt assisted the band with its popularity, artistry and commercial exposure. The band now consisted of: Adam Levine (vocals), Jesse Carmichael (electronics and backing vocals), Mickey Madden (bass guitar), James Valentine (lead guitar and backing vocals), Matt Flynn (drums and percussion) and PJ Morton (keyboards and electronics). Although this album received mixed reviews upon release with some critics stating that the sound was unadventurous, it still should be listened to as it is one of the more popular releases by Maroon 5 to this day. Let’s take a listen to this release from 2014 and we shall hear what it sounds like.

Maps begins with some falsetto vocals and clean Fender-styled guitar parts. Soon enough, this quickly enters into a good song with snappy drumming and great music. This is a good song but sounds very much a victim of digital autotune throughout. Regardless, this is an okay listening experience. The falsetto vocals by Adam Levine are absolutely wonderful sounding on this song at least, and this sounds like a precursor to much of the Pop/RnB of today, some years later. Nonetheless, this is an interesting and different digitally layered effort throughout. In the second half are joyous vocal melodies and a ton of handclaps throughout. An interesting song, it ends after three minutes in length.

Animals begins with falsetto vocals and chiming clean Fender-styled guitar parts. It sounds as good as it did today as it did back in 2014. This is a song about deep and meaningful styled relationship issues and is good to hear, despite its dark mood and musical nature. Adam Levine’s voice soars over everything else in the mix and sounds really sweet and brilliant in its own way. All the same, a cool and enjoyable piece of music that directly deals with the nature of breaking up with a lover. A sad sort of song, but nonetheless a very good one. The chorus is fantastic, with a sweetly synthesised set of melodies, lyricism and great music throughout. Maroon 5 isn’t talked about as much as Pop diva styled acts in today’s postmodern world. A holler leads into the last chorus and this reaches a sorrowful and emotional climax. Different.

It Was Always You begins with a sequenced keyboard patch, and Adam Levine sings about awaking about waking up from a nightmare and dealing with being brokenhearted throughout. This sounds rather a lot like U2 or Coldplay musically, complete with Joshua Tree-styled delay guitar parts. Nonetheless, this is a very magical listening experience. Soon enough, this enters into a Synth Pop-style set of melodic grooviness that suits Maroon 5’s music very well. The guitar work is understated and underrated on this album, just sounding pretty and mellow. Another solidly great listen. The autotuned vocals are a bit of an acquired taste, however, and can split the audience easily upon hearing. A great song that although is a fairly sell-out-sounding sort of music, does sound genuinely good. It ends with some more spacey keyboards to fade out with.

Unkiss Me sounds awful from the start. It has some layered electronics and vocals that sound mismatched. It is not a good idea for a song that easily could have been re-recorded or remixed. Eventually, the song gets going and Maroon 5 gradually improves this song throughout. This is about a postmodern desire to eradicate the memories of a past lover in mind. Sadly, many people in life can relate to this song and it is easy to hear why. It is a sad description of being torn apart by an ex-partner. Very moody. All in all, a good song to listen to but nothing worth winning awards over. A really interesting listen, but it sounds like an awkward musical fusion of sounds to be fair. The singing makes this music moving, and no doubt that Maroon 5 has nailed this musical aspect of their songs. Good but definitely not perfect.

Sugar is more of the same, just rather trashy electronic-based Pop Music. The band quickly launch into a good but again, flawed song that doesn’t have long-term appeal. This is a good song without being great, and although the chorus is melodic, catchy and enjoyable, it does sound like manufactured digital Pop Music. Still, regardless, this is about as good as mainstream music was in 2014. Which says a lot about the state of music at the time in the public’s eye. The song is fairly catchy but lacks musicality and consistency which is appealing. Still, a good groovy sort of tune that has a dramatic impact throughout. All in all, a good song that was a radio staple upon release in 2014. It ends with chiming electric guitar parts to finish off, which actually sound good.

Leaving California begins with some smooth and high-octave vocals, followed quickly by piano and other electronic-based textures. Again, this is good but nothing absolutely special about this song. Anyway, the music is very much like a copy of Coldplay or similar moody breakup music in the 21st century. It is difficult to listen to and totally appreciate this music throughout, it just sounds very much like something an AI bot would make if it was making Rock Music today. It’s good but lacks musical magic throughout. A sad-sounding song about breakups, yet again. This isn’t as bad as some K-pop music or something similar today, but the instant junk-styled appeal wears out fairly quickly. The outro is fantastic, with some jangly guitars and sweep delayed vocals.

In Your Pocket sounds ordinary and awful from the start. It has some plucked string sounds and enters into a thumping drum section-led song. Again, this doesn’t sound that good. It is a good representation of mainstream music in the early 21st century that lacks power, purpose and magic. Adam Levine sings well, once again, but even so, this is not music you would want on repeat. The harmonies are different, and the chorus is a good mesh of rather unimaginative sounds throughout. In any case, a good and energetic song that could have been constructed and made a lot better. A sad and depressing song about being rejected by a partner. This is okay but nothing truly special to listen to. Discussing getting a lady’s number in a song context? A bit weird, guys. Surely this is sexism?

New Love begins with some awful looped bass guitar parts and drumming, this is a bit like fingernails down a blackboard in terms not of the overall sound, but the cringeworthy and average music quality throughout. This is a song that deserves to be skipped, the sounds and try-hard lyrics are a very awful mixture. These guys would be better off making a stripped-down and more concise album which would be better, rather than letting electronic-based melodies drown these songs into mediocrity. It’s okay but sounds like the brokenhearted blues aren’t worthy of a huge appeal in a musical sense. It’s over after three minutes in length.

Coming Back For You begins with a keyboard swell and launches into a very 1980s-sounding song. The 1980s were long gone by this point, and the music throughout is dated sounding as a result. This is a song about trying to hunt down a lover who has rejected one. Rather a stupid story to hear, considering marriages have huge divorce rates in today’s world. In any case, the music throughout is okay but this comes across as Wimp Rock. That’s technically not a genre, but it sounds like Maroon 5 has invented that on this song. In any case, this is a good song that lacks a great long-term appeal. There is way too much autotune on Adam Levine’s vocals on these songs, which kills the listening experience. This is Exhibit A in that set of circumstances. This song wraps up just before four minutes in length, and the album can probably be stopped here by this point. Neither the song nor the album are really musically worth it.

Feelings begins with some awful 8-bit processed sounds and some yelped vocals before this rather funky Disco Music emerges. This is seriously not recommended for listeners who like good music. Although this song is kind of good, the chorus rips it to shreds with some truly bad singing and music to match. An upbeat song about a one-night stand (honestly, why?) that is really dramatic sounding, but otherwise, garbage. It’s not anywhere near good, and having some fake sexual sounds throughout. This music should not be played at a nightclub and was unlikely to be done so in the past. Very ordinary. It ends with some lame vocal harmonies and acoustic guitar strumming, before concluding. Poor.

My Heart Is Open oddly features Gwen Stefani (of No Doubt). It begins with some melancholy piano, which is digitally edited. Adam Levine sings well here, and this is a slightly better song as a result of being stripped down nicely. Surprisingly, Gwen Stefani’s appearance in this song is much welcome. Both the singers sound brilliant here. This is actual proof that Maroon 5 did not need a whole bunch of electronics and other glossy sounds to make a great song. In any case, this is a magical and enjoyable listen. This is likely the best song from this album, even though it is not the most popular listening experience from the album. The song is emotional and it is a good listen if you are missing your ex-partner after a breakup. It builds up in an anthemic way with string sections in the background towards the end. A sad but surprisingly good listening experience.

This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like A Motherfucker was not included on the original album release and is a bonus track on digital releases. It launches into a rather ordinary-sounding keyboard-led piece, before launching into a 21st-century New Order-styled piece of music. In any case, this sounds a bit like Jung Kook in terms of lyricism, if you need to compare that to anyone out there in the music world today. The music throughout is interesting listening, but the overall style of music from the album is still sub-par. This is not exactly what one needs to hear, and it sounds really poor and repetitive. This is about digging a girl on a summer holiday for a fling. This is shallow-sounding lyrically as a result. Very much a poor tune to listen to. The combined synthesis of vocals and electronic sounds wears off very quickly after a while. It ends with the looped vocals of the chorus on its own for one time, and the album ends here.

This is a mixed bag of musical quality. There is definitely potential in Maroon 5’s music to impress the listener on a broad scale. However, their approach of selling out and using some contemporary electronic-based sounds kills the album dead in the water, along with some of the lyrical themes on this album. Still, is this album worth listening to? Probably not, it’s rather uninspiring sounding.

Drivel music matched with unimaginative sounds.

4/10