5 Seconds of Summer, No Shame | Track Review 🎵

Aussie pop collective 5 Seconds of Summer delivers a thought-provoking message on “No Shame,” the third advance single from CALM.

Question: Are you ready for CALM? CALM, of course, is the highly anticipated fourth studio album by Aussie pop collective, 5 Seconds of Summer.  5SOS certainly changed their sound on their third album, Youngblood (2018), opting for more synths than guitars.  That’s sort of where much of pop and even some rock is trending.  Anyways, CALM has been in the works for a while with the collective releasing singles “Easier” and “Teeth” in 2019.  “No Shame” marks the third single from CALM, and the first released in 2020.  CALM itself arrives March 27, 2020.

As expected with pop records, there is no shortage of songwriters on “No Shame” – eight to be precise.  That includes the boys of 5 Seconds of Summer, along with Ali Tamposi, Andrew “Watt” Wotman, Donna Lewis, and Nathan “Happy Perez” Perez.  Crafting the sleek backdrop from that list of writers is Watt and Happy Perez.  Does the sound work well for 5SOS? Of course, by all means. Is the sound ‘the second coming’ by my estimations? Nah.

The theme and lyrics make “No Shame” more interesting though.  5 Seconds of Summer seem to speak about the crazy means people go to capture attention.  There are numerous examples, thought the best come courtesy of the shameful chorus:

“I only light up when camera are flashin’
Never enough and no satisfaction
Got no shame
I love the way you’re screaming my name
Diggin’ my grave to get a reaction
Changin’ my face and callin’ it fashion
Got no shame
I love the way you’re screaming my name.”

Honestly, the boys have a point.

Final Thoughts

All in all, “No Shame” is an enjoyable, well-rounded single from 5 Seconds of Summer.  As aforementioned, the production is good, though I can’t say I’m wowed out of my mind listening to it.  The theme itself is more intriguing to me as 5SOS definitely make a good point about the means people go to for attention and fame.  “No Shame” won’t change your life, but there’s definitely ‘no shame’ whatsoever listening to it.

5 Seconds of Summer • CALM • Interscope • Release: 3.27.20

Photo Credit: Interscope