5 Seconds of Summer - Everyone's a Star!

There’s a version of this album that could have been insufferable. A decade into their career, with a clean slate and a long history behind them, 5 Seconds of Summer could easily have made a sleek, self-important record about “maturity” and “growth”. They could have told everyone what it means to be an adult pop-rock band in 2025, sprinkled in some tasteful string sections, and called it a reinvention. Thankfully, they’ve done the opposite. ‘Everyone’s a Star!’ is lean, odd, slightly chaotic, and built on the realisation that the most interesting thing 5SOS can do now is stop trying to live up to any fixed idea of what they’re supposed to be.

Across twelve tracks, spread over a trim 36 minutes, the band jump between self-referential humour, nervy synth-rock, glossy mid-tempo pop, and guitar-led anthems without ever pretending the seams aren’t visible. If their last couple of records smoothed out the edges in pursuit of cohesion, this one brings them back intentionally. The title track sets the tone immediately: distorted vocals, grubby electronics, and a sense that they’re kicking off not with a grand declaration but with a sideways-up grin. It’s a savvy opener - recognisably them, but scraping off enough polish to make you lean in.

The run of early singles – ‘Not OK’, ‘Telephone Busy’, ‘Boyband’ – makes it clear they’re not interested in playing the nostalgia card either. ‘Boyband’ in particular is the kind of manoeuvre you can only make once you’re genuinely comfortable with your own history. Instead of dodging the term that defined their early years, they treat it as raw material. The track is sharp, snotty, knowingly theatrical, and more thoughtful than it pretends to be. It’s also one of the clearest reminders that 5SOS have always been more self-aware than the discourse around them allowed. The production is streamlined and modern, but the attitude is pure raised-eyebrow punk.