Long Awaited Album Finally Arrives
Jessica Dosanjh
Staff Writer
Fans of the British-Irish boyband “The Wanted” have waited a full two years for the release of the group’s latest album, Word of Mouth, which hit stores in the U.S. on Tuesday, November 5th.
The group consists of Max George (25), Tom Parker (25), Siva Kaneswaran (24), Jay McGuiness (23), and Nathan Sykes (20).
Although it is the group’s third studio album, it is the first full-length album of theirs to be released in the United States. However, American fans are already familiar with their music due to an EP released in 2012 in the U.S., which featured singles from their first and second albums. Also, their single “Glad You Came” peaked at number 3 for four consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012. The album is labeled as part of the dance-pop genre.
The tracklist begins with “We Own the Night”, which was released as a single in August of this year. It is a slow start to the album; perhaps it would have been better if it was placed towards the end, since it is the type of song that makes one feel as if they should be winding down, rather than getting pumped up. Nevertheless, it is catchy and gives off a positive vibe.
The following tracks, “In the Middle” and “Running Out of Reasons” are unique but still stay true to The Wanted’s original sound, present in their previous albums.
The album picks up the pace with the next two tracks, “I Found You” and “Show Me Love” which were also released as singles. These songs stand out from the rest of the generic pop songs and show off the boys’ fantastic vocal range, so it is easy to see why they were so popular.
“Walks Like Rihanna”, “Summer Alive”, and “Drunk on Love” were unimpressive because of the generic pop sound. This was totally unexpected, because they are a departure from the group’s previous albums, which did not contain dance tunes such as these.
“Glow in the Dark” is something you would expect to find on a David Guetta album. Although it has quite a bit of dubstep and EDM, the melody is catchy and it brings something different to the album, something that fans have not heard from the Wanted before.
The rest of the tracks are a mix of ballads and what some might consider “typical boyband music” but that does not prevent them from sounding good. They have great melodies, great vocals, and are filled with emotion.
Overall, the album is very diverse. Not all of the tracks sound alike, which is important for establishing interest for listeners. Part of what sets The Wanted apart from other pop artists is their ability to switch up their sound every now and then. The album is definitely worth a listen for fans of pop music.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
Eagle Era 