Song Review: Girls Talk Boys by 5 Seconds of Summer

I apologize for not posting anything in a while, but I've been quite busy with school and until now I have a break. For a while, I've been meaning to talk about this song, to be completely honest. It's kind of late, but it won't matter.

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I think it's pretty clear how I feel about this band since I did a Band overview on them. As I learned more about them, I will admit, I wouldn't want to call them a Boy Band. I understand the superficiality of the term and the members of 5Sos do not have a "Boy Band attitude" towards their music. With that said, they are making it really, really hard for the fans in general to defend them. As pointed out in my Artist Overview, 5Sos has progressively gone more Pop as their career moves forward. While their self titled "5 Seconds of Summer" Album was a good mix of Punk, Rock, and Pop, their follow up "Sounds Good, Feels Good" sounded less like Green Day and more like One Direction with guitars. I did not realized they released a new single until not so long ago called "Girls Talk Boys" and my previous theory about them going Pop was proven completely and totally, without any spec of doubt, absolutely right. "Girls Talk Boys" is way better than any of their songs in "Sounds Good, Feels Good" by a huge margin (with the exceptions of a few songs), yet this song is also by far the most "Pop" they've ever manage to be so far.

First and furthermost, this song is amazing. I love the groove. This is definitely a brilliant combination of Rock, Funk, and Pop. The steady, hard hitting drums and interaction between that groovy bass and guitars are simply wonderful. I don't know what to say about this song, it's just so tight and perfect... with the exception of the vocals and the pre-chorus. "Girls Talk Boys" starts off sounding like Bruno Mars (specifically Uptown Funk). It's groovy, it's funky, but it's also rock. However, as the song progresses and they begin to sing, 5Sos sound exactly like One Direction, and yet right before the pre-chorus, they revive the Bee Gees (circa 1977), only to go full on Calvin Harris on the pre-chorus. This is what I mean when I say that it's getting harder to not call 5Sos a Boy Band. The way they sing this song is so eerily reminiscent of One Direction that I could edit this song into a 1D music video and I don't think anyone would notice the difference. When they go high, and sound more like the Bee Gees, it fits more into the groove of the song rather than the preteen vocal work they were going for. The first time listening, it is very awkward to hear such a 1D-like vocal work and melodies in such a tight, funky song that is obviously deserving of a lot more. Where it really goes south for me is the pre-chorus. It sounds so generically pop. If I caught that one part on the radio and listened to nothing but the pre-chorus of the song, I would have never guess this is 5Sos. As mentioned before, I would assume it'd be Calvin Harris (mainly), the Chainsmokers or some other dumb generic DJ. I love this song, but in the sense of the band's growth this feels like both a step forward and a step backwards at the same time.

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On to the lyrics. These are the worst and most Boy Band-ish lyrics 5Sos can and will possibly sing. The Chorus is stupid. I wouldn't know how to write a chorus for this song, but repeating "When the Girls, When the Girls Talk Boys, When the Girls Talk Boys" is not acceptable lyrical work for a band like 5Sos. When the girls talk boys... what? What do they say? What do you think they say? Why do you care? When the girls talk boys what, dammit! This is not even a sentence! The rest of the verses in the song are at least complete ideas, or ideas that are eventually completed by the end of the stanza. However, these are very One Direction-ish love song lyrics. I hate to keep bringing 1D up but it's just the best comparison. I am guessing the narrator is talking to either his girlfriend or the girl he likes and wants to know what she talks about with her friends. And because this guy is a self centered douche, it has to be about him. "When you talk to your girls, do you talk about me? Do you say that I'm a sweetheart, do you say that I'm a freak"? I mean, you could interpret the song as a guy being nervous about what his girlfriend is saying about him behind his back. Are they good things? However, the way this song is being sung is way too confident to be about insecurity of your reputation. I'll probably get a lot of hate for this, but this is an Uptown Funk/One Direction mashup. There is no way around it.

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Is the song good? Totally. The lyrics are a bit too sleazy and douche-y for me and the vocal melody isn't the best 5Sos has to offer, but the music is good enough to make me ignore the song's flaws. But the problem was never on 5Sos's music, is their persona and their image, and this song is a perfect reflection of that. If you want to sound something like a combination of Rock and Pop, that's fine. I find Punk Rock to be a very limiting genre, so I'm all for 5Sos expanding their sound like they did in "Girls Talk Boys". Embrace your Pop sound, expand your horizons and sounds. However, quit trying to call or portray yourself as something you are clearly not.