‘V’ channels the power of love
Maroon 5, an American pop rock band, released their fifth album, ”V”, on August 29, 2014. Since its release, the album has been featured as the number one album on Billboard’s Top 200. The debut single on the album, “Maps”, gained fame as the first single in 18 years to reach the highest level of the Top 40 radio charts. The single also took a top 100 spot on 18 different country’s top charts.
“V” is an album with a mixture of slow and upbeat songs but they all have a 1980’s spin on them. There are songs about cheating, new found love, break ups, and finding “the one.”
This album is one of my favorite albums and has been since it was released. It is one of the most compelling and touching albums that Maroon 5 has released so far. The songs can take you from dancing around your room to singing a slow, soulful, song in the shower.
The album starts with the song “Maps.” This track is all about going your separate ways but realizing that you need the person you left behind and that they need you. When lead singer Adam Levine sings the line “All the roads you took came back to me, so I’m following the map that leads to you,” this indicates that both he and the significant other in the song have realized that they always end up together again.
“Animals” is the next track on the album and it gets a little risqué. This song is all about pretending that you aren’t supposed to be with someone or that you aren’t attracted to them. Adam is singing to a girl that he is perpetually attracted to and he knows that she is perpetually attracted to him as well. Levine tells this girl that she “can find other fish in the sea, pretend it’s meant to be, but can’t stay away” from him.
The next track, “It Was Always You”, takes the tempo and the mood to a slower and sweeter place. Levine is singing about a girl that he has been friends with forever but never realized that she meant so much to him. In the line “For my whole life, we never crossed the line, only friends in my mind, but now I realize, it was always you”, Levine reveals his true feelings to the woman.
Track four, “Unkiss Me”, keeps the tempo that “It Was Always You” creates. “Unkiss Me” is a song all about realizing that someone may not feel the way you do about them and letting them go. It’s a song all about confusion and feeling that your significant other is “over us.”
“Sugar” is the next track on the album and it takes the tempo back up to dancing around your room. This song exemplifies the “honeymoon” phase of relationships to a tee. This is specifically shown in the line “Cause I don’t care where you are, I just wanna be there where you are.” Young love and affection are the main themes of this song.
“Leaving California” is a slow track on the album that opens up the idea of leaving someone behind. In the song Levine is singing to a woman that wants to leave California and him. Levine is serenading this woman and telling her that even if she does leave he “won’t let go.”
Track 7, “In Your Pocket,” is all about paranoia in a relationship and having the idea that your significant other may be cheating or talking with someone else. Adam Levine shows that there is no trust in the relationship when he says “If you have nothing to hide, show me that phone in your pocket girl.”
“New Love” is a track on the album that brings about the idea of diving into commitment and being in a new relationship. It also reinforces the “honeymoon” phase of the relationship. When Levine sings “But if I ever let you down, would it kill you to forgive me, this is a new love”, he is showing that when you are in a new relationship you have to know that your partner is not going to be perfect all of the time.
One of the songs on the album that relates to students here on campus is “Coming Back For You.” The song opens with the line “Looking at the same sky that we used to live under. Are you thinking about the love that I took from us?” This line applies to students on campus that are in long distance relationships. They left someone that they care about and took “love” from the other person. Levine then goes on to sing that he is coming back for the woman in the song. This song is great for anyone here on campus that is missing their significant other that they left back at home.
“Feelings” is another song on the album that explores new feelings and experiences. This song takes the album to a risqué side again with the line “If you want me take me home and let me use you.” Levine is singing to a woman that he has feelings for and wants to explore them and see where they go.
Track 11 is the song “My Heart Is Open”, which features Gwen Stefani. The song is a ballad sang between two hesitant lovers that have a long history of hurting one another. Gwen Stefani Levine, sing a touching piece that is accompanied by Jesse Carmichael, the keyboardist for Maroon 5. The song gives the listener a feeling of hope for love and any struggle going on in relationships.
“Shoot Love” is a song about letting go of things that have happened in a relationship and not letting them fester and eventually explode into a huge problem. Levine sings “Got my hands up screaming, don’t shoot love baby” as a metaphor for the woman finally exploding over what used to be a small problem.
Track thirteen is a remake of the original Nirvana song “Sex and Candy”. Levine shows his slow and sultry side during this slow track. Although, it would be hard to remake a classic by Nirvana, Levine and Maroon 5 do an amazing job of combining the definitive nature of the original song with their pop sound.
“Lost Stars” is the fourteenth and final track on “V” and it closes out the album with a slow and soft outro. This song explores the idea that everyone is lost in their youth. The song makes it clear that everyone, no matter how old, is wandering through the galaxy trying to find themselves. Levine asks “But are we all lost stars trying to light up the dark?”
This album is a huge stepping stone for Maroon 5 and their music career. They started out as a small band that debuted in 2002 and they have now grown into an internationally recognized band. They won their first Grammy in 2005 and have been growing ever since. I personally love all of their work especially this album and I cant wait to see what the future holds for Maroon 5 and all of their fans.