Maroon 5, Memories | Track Review 🎵

Grammy-winning pop collective Maroon 5 release a thoughtful new single that highlights loss, remembrance, and moving forward on “Memories.”

“Here’s to the ones that we got / Cheers to the wish you were here, but you’re not / ‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories / Of everything we’ve been through…” According to a tweet by Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, “Memories” is “for anyone who has ever experienced loss. In other words, this song is for all of us.”  Who better to characterize the song than Levine, the face of Maroon 5 since the Songs About Jane days?  And honestly, his description of the new single is spot-on, further exemplified by the excerpted lyrics from the chorus.

The chorus continues as follows:

“Toast to the ones here today
Toast to the ones that we lost on the way
‘Cause the drinks bring back all the memories
And the memories bring back, memories bring back you.”

On the verses, Adam Levine remains reflective, using the loss and memories of loved one to become a better person.  “When I felt all of the hatred was too powerful to stop,” he sings on the second verse, he adds, “Now my heart feels like an ember and it’s lighting up the dark / I’ll carry these torches for ya that you know I’ll never drop.” Musically, the backdrop is simple but effective, placing more weight on Levine’s vocals and most of all, the lyrics and the reflective, remembering theme of the song itself.

Final Thoughts 

The theme and thoughtfulness of “Memories” makes it pack quite a respectable punch.  This is not the flashiest Maroon 5 record, but it certainly eclipses some of the sketchier singles that arrived in advance of Red Pill Blues in 2016-17.  There isn’t a great deal of depth when it comes to the songwriting but again, Adam Levine and company make a notable statement, and we should all embrace it.

Maroon 5 • Memories [Single] • Interscope • Release: 9.20.19

Photo Credit: Interscope