Maroon 5 fans endured misery for the last three years, anxiously awaiting their next album. The band’s last album, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, hit stores in May 2007, and fans have been eager for more of Maroon 5′s funk rock. The band ended the fans’ misery by releasing Misery, their new single.
Being a huge fan of Maroon 5 since 2002, I listened to Misery right away. Let me tell you, Maroon 5 is back! The song was a much-needed mix of the gritty Songs About Jane and the slick It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. Although I enjoyed Maroon 5’s evolution and risk in incorporating new styles in their second album, it was too smooth, sexy, and over-engineered. It lacked the honest and organic feel of their first album.
I was pleased to see Maroon 5 taking the best from their first two albums and blending them in Misery, which has the pounding chorus of This Love and the polished production of Makes Me Wonder. With the single, Maroon 5 sticks to their trademark quick and funky guitar riffs, catchy pop melodies, and provocative lyrics. Its singability and danceability will surely make it a summertime success. It’s already on my iPod.
The song has Adam Levine brooding over a woman causing him misery. Could this woman still be the enigmatic Jane, who vexed Adam since his days with his high school band, Kara’s Flowers? Check out their song My Ocean Blue. She must have been one hell of woman. All the tracks on Maroon 5’s first album are “songs about Jane.”
Yet, I am concerned that Maroon 5 is getting lazy. Their first album had a unique sound, but it also had a variety in the style of the songs. It featured rock, pop, and jazz influences all within a natural, unrefined package. Their second album was heavily produced and borrowed too much from other artists, such as Outkast’s Hey Ya! piano riff on Little of Your Time, Adam’s chorus from Kanye West’s Heard ‘em Say on Nothing Lasts Forever, the famously recognizable first seven notes of 3 Doors Down’s Kryptonite on Goodnight, Goodnight, and a conspicuously Prince-inspired Kiwi.
Now, Maroon 5 is titling their next album, Hands All Over, after one of the tracks. Cop out. Maroon 5 had two creative titles on previous non-song-titled albums, and they should put in the same thought on this one, since it may be their last. If Maroon 5 can produce a balanced mix of their first two albums, it might be their masterpiece. If they don’t, fans will suffer even more misery.
Misery is available now on iTunes. Maroon 5’s new album, Hands All Over, goes on sale September 21.
