I like most people who listen to the radio wasn’t that big of a fan of Maroon 5 until the singles from their fourth album “Overexposed” came out. I mean of course I knew their classics like “Sunday Morning” or “This Love” and their collab with Rihanna has always been a guilty pleasure of mine but I never got into a full length album from them.

With “Overexposed” being my first venture into a full length Maroon 5 album I had high hopes for their fifth album “V” that came out August 29, 2014. Did it meet my expectations? Well….

 

The album kicks off with their first single “Maps” and I don’t know what it is about albums that start off with the first single but their usually not good unless the album is full of single worthy material but that’s another blog post. I hated “Maps” when I first heard it a couple of months ago. I liked the vibe of the first 30 seconds but I wasn’t fan of the repetitive chorus. But like most songs that get played on the radio constantly, I grew to tolerate it. The second song “Animals” should have been the first single in my opinion but they made it the second single so I can’t complain too much.

I’m feeling the album until I get to the sixth track “Leaving California”. The track reminds of their previous work and sounds like a filler that even hearing it 24/7 on the radio can’t  save. Maybe its the repetitive chorus or all of the “oohs” but I’m definitely skipping that one. The next track “In Your Pocket” isn’t any better. Even though it targets something my generation goes through all the time, hiding shit from your significant other on your phone, it sounds corny to me.

“Show me that phone in your pocket girl”

I don’t get back into the album until “Feelings”. This song has a very infectious tone to it and I like Levine’s playful take on the song. I see single potential all over it and the chorus is a winner! The duet with Gwen Stefani on “My Heart Is Open” is solid and a great way to close the standard edition of the album.

The bonus tracks are…alright. I get why they aren’t on the standard edition but I won’t front I like the cover of Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy”.

Overall “V” has some potential contenders for Top 10 hits but did it top “Overexposed”? No. I feel like “V” was Maroon 5 trying to find that lightning in the bottle again and they couldn’t really find that spark.

What do you think of “V”? Let me know below and cop the album on iTunes now!

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Score: 6.5/10

Standouts: Animals, Feelings, My Heart Is Open, Unkiss Me

Buy on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/v-deluxe-version/id900751540