After getting their big break by opening for One Direction on the Take Me Home tour, it was assumed by many that 5 Seconds of Summer would be another pop boy band that would run their course and dissolve. Since then, the band has broken that stereotype with their edgy and punk music, and continues to push that sound on Sounds Good Feels Good.

The band’s sophomore album contains songs that have hints of alternative with a mix of pop-punk, and provides a nice break from the usual computerized hits. “She’s Kinda Hot” and “Hey Everybody!” were the singles released before the album, and both contain catchy beats with rebellious lyrics making it nearly impossible to not sing along.

Sounds Good Feels Good also showcases the band’s personality that ranges from punk to a softer side. Songs such as “San Francisco” and “Outer Space / Carry On” transition from the normal high tempo, high energy hits to a slower ballads that utilize the range of lead singer Luke Hemmings.

All of the tracks were written by at least one of the band members, and the lyrics in songs such as “Broken Home” easily connect to struggles that many members of their teenage fan base can relate to on a personal level.

The band manages to balance their musical ambition with their “adorableness”, according to Rollingstone.com, and only slightly drifts back to the basic pop brand in the song “She’s Kinda Hot”.

While paving their own road in what it means to be a pop-punk band, songs such as “Permanent Vacation” with its underdog rallying cry and the encouraging lyrics in “Hey Everybody!” are easily relatable to the sound of Green Day and Duran Duran, according to avclub.com.

Overall, the album earned four out of five stars for it’s stand-out presence in a computerized pop generation. Sounds Good Feels Good proves that it is possible to climb the pop charts with a different kind of boy band and solidifies 5 Seconds of Summer’s presence in the music industry for a long time to come.

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