Life > November 1, 2007

By CeCe Brooks | Contributing writer

It is hard to believe that it has been five years since Maroon 5’s first and only album, Songs About Jane. The delay is a result of their many successful singles from Jane and years of touring.

The band, who used to be called Kara’s Flowers (kind of a strange change if you ask me), has finally come out with a new album and a fresh sound.

You may know Maroon 5 from songs such as “This Love,” “She Will Be Loved,” or a Saturday Night Live Digital Short about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, where lead singer Adam Levine sings a catchy chorus. The new CD is entitled It Won’t Be Soon Before Long.

It Won’t Be Soon Before Long appears to be a commentary on lead singer Adam Levine’s relationships, or maybe lack thereof.

The album can be basically divided up into sad break-up songs, mean break-up songs, sex songs or a combination (almost all at least refer to sex).

The slower and more sentimental songs are “Won’t Go Home Without You” (one of my personal favorites), “Nothing Lasts Forever,” “Not Falling Apart,” “Better That We Break” and “Back At Your Door.”

“Nothing Lasts Forever” reminds me of Usher’s “Burn” in terms of lyrical content; it is a heartfelt song without that depressing lethargic sound. “Back At Your Door” is enjoyable to listen to because of its retro, more soulful sound.

The remainder of the CD is more upbeat in sound, if not in lyrics. For instance, the first single from the album, “Makes Me Wonder,” is an upbeat track with callous lines like “And it really makes me wonder if I ever gave a f*** about you.”

Among the other danceable songs is “Can’t Stop,” a descriptive, almost perverted (or maybe I’m just a prude) tale of missing an ex: “wake up making love to a pillow” and “I touch myself like it’s somebody else.” “Kiwi” is a lively song, one of those that you can’t get out of your head, illustrating Levine’s escapades.

The exception to these categories is “Wake Up Call.”

For those of you who have heard this song on the radio, you know why this is. I can’t really put a song describing Levine shooting the man his girlfriend is sleeping with into a category.

I have to say that the video for this song is one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen.

It is set up like a movie, including credits, that depicts the main plotline of the song, along with other members of the band getting arrested for various stereotypical movie actions. If you have a spare minute you should look it up on YouTube.

I applaud band members James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Matt Flynn for having a signature sound, but also variation on the album.

I can’t quite say the same for Adam Levine.

He is obviously a talented singer and songwriter, but I feel that he didn’t really show off his skills vocally. It is impressive to sing in falsetto, but it would be nice if he displayed his other skills more often.

The only other problem I had with the album was small; I believe the songwriters tried to pack in too many words for a line, making them seem a little choppy.

The album exhibits the band’s new sound, a combination of retro, soul and contemporary pop.

Overall, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long shows musical growth on the band’s part and an interesting insight into the personal life of the chief songwriter.