“She Looks So Perfect” by 5SOS

Total Album Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

It’s the typical story of a boy band from overseas making it big in the United States because of hyped teenage American girls looking for fresh faces to idolize over…. Does One Direction ring a bell?

The hottest new thing on the scene is 5 Seconds of Summer, or 5SOS for short. The pop/rock band comprises of lead singer Luke Hemmings, guitarist Michael Clifford, Calum Hood with bass guitar, and Ashton Irwin on the drums.

The guys from Sydney, Australia started the group in high school in 2011. Then they set up a channel and started posting cover songs to YouTube, racking up over 600,000 hits by singing the Chris Brown and Justin Bieber mashup “Next To You.”

The 5SOS boys toured with One Direction on their 2013 Take Me Home Tour. 5SOS’ popularity skyrocketed from there, and were quickly signed by Capitol Records.

“She Looks So Perfect” is the boys’ third EP but their first to be released in the United States. The EP debuted in the US on April 1, 2014, and fans scooped up 143,000 copies in its first week. The EP earned the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200.

The title track “She Looks So Perfect” reached platinum on the Australian charts and gold in New Zealand, obviously because it’s the best single on the EP. The vibe is carefree and catchy enough to be the hit it already is.

“Heartache On the Big Screen” is a sad breakup song with a somewhat fun tone due to the rhyming lyrics and upbeat tempo. “The Only Reason” starts out as a slow song that highlights each member’s vocals, but then the beat kicks in to make it even better. “What I Like About You” is merely a remake of a previously existing song, which isn’t very impressive.

5SOS doesn’t lack the skills to be the next phenomenon. Give their music a quick listen and it’s obvious that they aren’t as fabricated as perceived to be. After seeing girls all over my Twitter timeline talk about the group relentlessly and tweet about “She Looks So Perfect,” I assumed that they would be a passing trend of yet another group who sang bubblegum-pop music without talent or substance, but now I have to agree with them. 5SOS is edgier, more natural, and certainly will be an act to watch out for in 2014.

Check out how I rated the tracks:

“She Looks So Perfect” – 5 stars

“Heartache On the Big Screen” – 4 stars

“The Only Reason” – 4 stars

“What I Like About You” – 3 stars

Lauren Fabiszak is an A&E Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.org.