MAROON 5 OVEREXPOSED 4SHARED SERIES

ItвЂ™s odd to describe his voice as being bold given how reedy he often sounds, but it doesnвЂ™t take long to figure out why Levine is offering us such commanding performances: this time around, heвЂ™s absolutely brimming with confidence.ДЄs the album goes on, certain, expected tropes are trotted out for the band to show off their newfound melodic prowess: вЂњDaylightвЂќ is your big anthem that actually couldвЂ™ve been a lot bigger had they not relied entirely on a thin drum palette during the chorus. In truth, the lyrics to вЂњPayphoneвЂќ come off as more thoughtful and considered than they have for the group in some time, and once that expletive-filled chorus hits, you really can hear a certain boldness in LevineвЂ™s voice that wasnвЂ™t anywhere to be found on Hands All Over. вЂњYeah I know itвЂ™s hard to remember / The people we used to be,вЂќ Levine intones, and as he continues, thereвЂ™s an obvious resonance in his voice, light-years removed from, say, вЂњMiseryвЂќ. The lead single, вЂњPayphoneвЂќ, exhibits the groupвЂ™s strengths far better. This technicolor experiment starts with a curveball in the form of the casual reggae slide-along вЂњOne More NightвЂќ, a breezy track wherein the chorus and the verse are largely indistinguishable from each other, the song existing on a permanent plateau, the drums dropping out during the pre-chorus serving as the only melodic deviation in the entire track, and even then, itвЂ™s not much to go off of, making for a remarkably uninteresting start. Maroon 5, 2.0 (which makes them either 7 or 10, depending). Inspired, the group entered the studio with every studio wunderkid they could find (Shellback, Benny Blanco, Max Martin), intent on not making a casual pop album as they did before, but instead crafting the most colorful, maximalist take on pop music they could possibly fine. The song was absolutely shameless with its Top 40 intentions, but fun and loose in a way that was nowhere to be seen on their last two albums. It was launched on The Voice, the show which turned Levine from Handsome Frontman to Actual Celebrity (and even though Aguilera guested on the track, the song succeeded in spite of her, not because of her). The song got overplayed like hell, but damn if it wasnвЂ™t expertly crafted, that whistled hook burrowing in your brain for hours on end. We all remember what inspired that freedom: вЂњMoves Like JaggerвЂќ. And because of that freedom, we get the wild curiosity that is Overexposed: as fascinatingly flawed a pop album as any group has made in recent memory. Gauzy, disposable, Christina Aguilera-assisted freedom. Their easy everyman charm got lost in sleek pop productions, and despite the Rihanna collaborations and somehow thinking they had enough вЂњundiscovered classicsвЂќ to make an album of B-sides in 2007 (and a remix album the year after), Maroon 5 were beginning to lose their way, which the band blatantly acknowledged in interviews about the lack of sales for Hands All Over (that albumвЂ™s second single, вЂњGive a Little MoreвЂќ, toppped out at a downright embarrassing No. The band released two more albums - the long-delayed (and horridly-titled) 2007 effort It WonвЂ™t Be Soon Before Long and the limp 2010 disc Hands All Over - but it was obvious that despite scoring their first chart-topper with вЂњMakes Me WonderвЂќ, there was something missing with the group. Despite all the frustrations the group felt from the start, success was proving to be remarkably easy.

MAROON 5 OVEREXPOSED 4SHARED SERIES

Once they were in the pop consciousness, they pretty much never left, as what followed was a non-stop series of charming yet inoffensive pop staples: вЂњThis LoveвЂќ, вЂњShe Will Be LovedвЂќ, the surprisingly soulful вЂњSunday MorningвЂќ, etc. Upset and angered, the group turned in вЂњ Harder to BreatheвЂњ, the hardest-rocking song the band has ever done (to date), and loвЂ™ and behold, it was not only their first single, but also their first Top 40 hit. However, thatвЂ™s exactly what happened in 2002 when the young, Adam Levine-fronted band known as Maroon 5 turned in their first post-KaraвЂ™s Flowers album, Songs About Jane, to their label, who insisted that they didnвЂ™t hear a single in the batch. ItвЂ™s truly amazing to think that there was a time when Maroon 5 were not considered pop enough.

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