Pop music--on rock steroids!
Review Score: 








(8/10)
Maroon 5 isn't unique, but they're good. Adam Levine's voice is crisp enough to woo women's hearts, yet gritty enough to remain listenable. The musicianship is credible, with organs mixing right next to screaming electric guitars. It's catchy enough to warrant repeated listening--and that's saying something, considering a lot of the crap that passes as rock these days.
The songs themselves are comprise a grab-bag: take your pick on which ones you like. "Harder to Breathe" certainly has a catchiness to it, in Levine's heated delivery and the enraged, pained lyrics. Similar themes of love/hate relationships plague the rest of the album, none more so than "This Love." However, "She Will Be Love" offers up a whistfullness that's much-wanted and loved by the time it rolls around (of course, it's kinda hard to like the song, after hearing it 90,000 times on radio and video...still, it's a good tune). "Must Get Out" and "Through With You" are two other highlites, with the live "Not Coming Home" an aural treat.
Overall, what you've got here is this: SONGS ABOUT JANE, a promising debut by Maroon 5. It's not the best CD of all time, of course not--but it's pretty good, much better than a lot of what comes out these days. It's not an album you should judge before listening--they have a boy-band image, but they've got a lot of grit, too. And I'll take grit over N'SYNC any day of the week.
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