Written by Tom Bedding
The bands 7th studio album begins with sheer intent on nailing and putting their own stamp on the current pop climate, with the Megan Thee Stallion collaboration called ‘Beautiful Mistakes’. With a soothing beat and chorus, the verses glimmer so well with Adam Levine offering a more lower toned vocal performance, at all times it just gets stuck in your head. Yes its impressive that this band can always pull off songs like this again and again but you just wish they could keep up this whole intensity, for the entire record!
Nevertheless, the melodic performance by Megan Thee Stallion is wondrous, flying in to showcase a new side to the rapper, that we have not seen yet. Another standout of this track is the guitar tones of James Valentine, despite the record not feeling like a band effort, his simple guitar work with his very own ‘Valentine Guitar’ really makes this single sound so gorgeous.
When Maroon 5 managed to crack into the mainstream after 8 years of trying, many celebrated their songwriting ability that brought together Wonder, Beatles and Sting together, for a 21st century audience. There has been signs of the Sting love since then and ‘Lost’ showcases that love with Adam Levine’s vocal performance. The latest single feels immersive, feeling like we are lost at sea and features some interesting sounds with regards to the percussion. ‘Lost’ doesn’t deviate from its premise, which is a shame, as the song really could have taken this record to a really brave and fascinating direction.
Over a very dull beat, ‘Echo’ does not do much…it’s rather painful if you ask me. Here we have some awful auto-tuned vocals that truly destroys any chance of the chorus feeling heartwarming. It’s not surprising that Maroon 5 are exploring this sound on their seventh album but ‘JORDI’ could have been such a better attempt if the band decided to put faith in an Andrew Watt, who could of creatively controlled the stylistic decisions and songwriting calls. Instead there are 59 songwriting credits, leaving Maroon 5 very much all over place on this LP.
Then surprisingly on ‘Lovesick, the whole band comes together in the best way possible on the entire record, feeling so bright with its lovely sounding bass line and subtle keyboard work. Matt Flynn’s drumming steadies the ship well on the track, with a catchy synth hook giving such light to the track and Levine fitting well, with the slight auto tuned work on his delivery.
If we didn’t have the natural excitement for bloody Stevie Nicks being on it and what that could bring, then I think ‘Remedy’ would go down rather well with people. With a very Fleetwood Mac like riff and a melody that is highly fun, Maroon 5 offer something incredibly playful and Stevie’s vocal melody feel’s so awesome during the hook. However, you can feel very disappointed with how auto tuned she is and that the band don’t want to truly show off, having such an icon on a track…..with every listen you are just battling how you want more Stevie Nicks on this thing.
With some more sweet sounding Valentine guitar work, ‘Seasons’ starts with a lot promise for something (dare I say it), very Songs About Jane like…we wish. Adam Levine gives a shot at almost rapping to an okay standard, however this song does not move away from its main hook and that really leaves the song to fall flat. It seems so obvious that a song like this would feel so grande if we were given some sort of dynamic shift in the bridge, sadly it that is nowhere to be seen.
The staleness of ‘One Light (feat. Banu) truly brings you back to the frustrations of where Maroon 5 are at as a band. As stated, many were excited in the early 00’s with their blend of some classic songwriters as inspiration, you felt like as a group they were going to take control of popular music for years to come. Despite keeping up with the trends, we are given moments like this and it just feels so incredibly tiring and bland.
Though, H.E.R. begins a rather pleasant song in ‘Convince Me Otherwise’, which again features some tasteful bass playing and it would be interesting to know if band member, Sam Farrar, is at the helm for this one or not. The only way to describe the song is pleasant, with PJ Morton chiming away on keys and the backing vocals by Jesse Carmichael and James Valentine bring some much needed charm to this decent song.
Despite ‘Nobody’s Love’ failing to break the Top 40 in the States, the song is for sure a standout song on the turbulent ‘JORDI’. Levine’s vocals and electronic beats creates an emotive tone, with the lyrics having a sweet sentiment of only wanting your partners love but they do feel a tad crap at times. Again, it is a solid track off the record but with its performance upon its release being very weak, could it be a sign of Maroon 5 potentially coming to the end of its existence?
‘Can’t Leave You Alone’ does indeed have a great hook to it, however it does feel like a demo as needs so much needed elements added to it. The feature of the late Juice WRLD may leave people wanting more from his part but his presence on an album, that is named after the bands manager, fits really well and enhances the albums sentimental tone that isn’t as prominent as suggested.
With this album being named after their manager, who died suddenly in 2017, having ‘Memories’ to close the whole thing does make the last moment of the LP a tad more human in comparison to the rest of the record. Ignoring how there are two versions of the track and them switching around being the closer on the different editions of ‘JORDI’, this song does truly hit a chord with many and was a lovely release by the band in 2019.
Sampling ‘Cannon in D Major’, Adam Levine takes his Sting like vocals into heartwarming territory and sings about the lost of his life long friend and manager. With the way the guitar part enters and the church choir like ‘oohs’ in the background, hearing the lyrics describing the painful experience of such a tragedy, you can’t resit revelling in the sorrow of a band sounding their most sincere in a decade.
Bring Me The Music Recommended Tracks: Beautiful Mistakes, Lovesick and Memories
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