Fifth Harmony 

7/27

Album Review

The Review – Luke and Jordan

Full review here: https://talkabouttunes.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/fifth-harmony-727-2016/

1) That’s My Girl 

(T.Kachingwe, A.Kronlund, L.Loules)

Why hello there 5H! What an introduction. With ‘That’s My Girl’ they really use the sassy ‘Worth it’ sax theme really well. The introduction is sublime, followed by perfect builds and then… the dreadful monotone chorus attacks your ear drums. The best hook in this song is “Ain’t Nothing” before bringing us to the faster than roadrunner vocal arrangement in the bridge. However, I can’t get over how luck luster and monotone the “That’s my girrrrrrrl” elongated note sounds. Get rid of that awful chorus and you’re on to a winner girls! The instrumental is as sassy as (See below) 7/10

A hot track that is extremely current and fresh, great harmonizing in the chorus. The song uses a range of instruments which get you excited and ‘pumped’ a great album opener! 7/10

2) Work From Home (Ft. TY Dolla $ign)

(J.Coleman, J.Demorest, T.Griffin JR, A.Izquierdo, D.Koehlke, B.Lee)

From sass central ‘That’s My Girl’ to a more innocent sounding tune from the girls. The song is a huge juxtaposition really, the music is almost reminiscent of a lullaby with calming tones, yet the lyrics and theme portrays a more promiscuous side to the girls “Let my body do the work”. Additionally, I love how ambiguous the lyrics are, you can literally interpret them in anyway – what does ‘Work’ even mean? This track is definitely a radio friendly bop and the hook is very contagious! my only gripe is how lazy the song writing is, “You don’t gotta go to work” is repeated a lot and could have been filled with something more stimulating. Ty Dolla $ign’s appearance was also a nice feature. 7.5/10
Instant summer vibe with the beat in the beginnign which carries the track. I don’t think the rap is necessary really. The repetition of the word ‘work’ is very catchy and you can sing along instantly… although after a while it can get annoying. 6/10

3) The Life 

(T.Kachingwe, A.Kronlund, L.Loules)

From the first 30 seconds, this sounds like a club banger, the backing noises and subtle builds progressing to faster tones and vocal arrangements really get the listener engaged. The vocals on “This is the life” seem to glide over the heavy backing beats and it reinforces just how much Fifth Harmony are a force to be reckoned with. I’d suggest to the girls that this be a single from the album, it’s the perfect blend of mid-tempo/fast paced. 7/10
I really enjoy this fresh sound that the girls seem to inherit so far on this album, the cool signing accents remind me of ‘Rihanna’. Another summer jam that’s played by the pool – it sounds like single material to me! 7.5/10

4) Write On Me

(K.Gorvell-Dahll, T.Hermansen, M.Eriksen, P.Renea, S.Wilcox)

Metaphor alert! This is going to be that song on the album… you know the one, that track that’s full of metaphors and cliches. The vocals on the first pre-chorus are quite crackly… it’s not horrific to listen to, it may have been intentional – it kind of works. As the song gets to the chorus, I’m actually quite pleased we haven’t hit ballad territory as of yet, this song works really well as a mid tempo empowerment track, even if it is a bit of a ‘try hard’ children in need song. The instrumental really enhances this track over the pre-chorus, it get’s you dancing – it’s almost urban. 6.5/10
A slightly different sound, I love the metaphor in the lyrics, the chorus sounds like ‘Ride on me’ but I think that’s intentional to cause people to question it if they heard it on the radio. The lyrics become repetitive quite quickly and they are in need of more material but luckily the instrumental saves it. 5/10

5) I Lied  

(J.Abrahart, A.Izquierdo, M.Lomax, J.Johnson, S.Johnson, O.Peterhof, J.Wong)

First impressions, this track sounds like a carbon copy of ‘The Life’ mixed with a Justin Bieber style track. I like how the song goes from what you think is a ballad to another bop. The chorus is very easy to grasp and sing along to and would thrive on the radio – it’s modern yet not too modern to really get into. 6.5/10

This song has it all, it’s beyond catchy and right up my street – the best chorus int he album thus far. Great use of instruments, whoever produced this is onto a winner, a really enjoyable track. 8/10

6) All In My Head (Flex) (Ft. Fetty Wap)

(T.Hermansen, M.Eriksen, B.Levin, B.Garcia, D.Peterson, N.Lambroza, J.Michaels, W.Maxwell, E.Brown, C.Dillon, R.Foulks, H.Harris, L.Romans, L.Dunbar, B.Thompson, H.Tucker)

We are introduced to varied sound on this track, there are guitar riffs as well as urban/electro beats and it’s very unique indeed… but like with the first track, the chorus is so lack luster! The builds are executed perfectly and then the drab ‘Fleeeeeeex’ is presented to us. The contagious hook of “I wanna feel you on” is very enjoyable though.Looks like too many cooks – spoil the broth! 5/10
A catchy pop song with a current rapper, even though he sound drunk – it’s nothing special 5/10

7) Squeeze 

(T.Hermansen, M.Eriksen, K.Gorvell-Dahll, N.Lambroza, P.Renea, S.Wilcox)

The different staccato / prolonged breaking vocal notes in this song are really nice to listen to and different to what we have been accustomed to. The calming and almost zen like sounds really compliment the girls’ silky smooth vocals gliding over the sickly sweet tunes. We are then presented with heavenly falsetto notes. This is an album gem if I ever heard one, granted – the lyrics are repeated a lot but I feel this is used as a hook for the listener to grasp rather than laziness. I love how the girls sound vulnerable and soft in comparison to almost intimidating in previous tracks, turns out they are humans and not robots after all. 8/10
This song is sweet and still in theme musically with previous tracks, the falsetto on the end of the word ‘Squeeze’ sounds as though the lover has held them tight causing them to sing higher, it’s almost like a release being in somebody’s arms. The song is quite short, I think it would have made a great interlude into another song. 6/10

See the full review here: 
https://talkabouttunes.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/fifth-harmony-727-2016/