R5’s debut album “Louder” brings something fun to the listeners
Album cover of “Louder” courtesy of www.r5rocks.com/
December 11, 2013
R5 is a pop rock band from California formed in 2009. The band consists of five members: Riker Lynch, Rocky Lynch, Ross Lynch, Rydel Lynch, and Ellington Ratliff, four of whom are siblings. They self-released an EP entitled “Ready, Set, Rock” in March of 2010 and released their debut album “Louder” earlier this year which consists of 11 songs.
“Louder” is full of many catchy songs that people enjoy. There is a significant use of guitars throughout the songs which I liked. It definitely had that pop-rock feel to each and every song. The vocals, while not amazing, fit the songs well.
One song that stood out was “Love Me Like That” because the main vocals of the song are sung by Rydel Lynch, the only girl in the group. I did not particularly like the song, but it was nice for them to throw in a song on the album showcasing her vocal abilities.
“One Last Dance” is definitely a favorite mostly because of the acoustic-type sound to it with the guitars and the touching lyrics when they sing, “Tear drops in your hazel eyes, I can’t believe I made you cry.” Another favorite of mine was “Pass Me By” because of the fun, upbeat acoustic feel.
One thing I disliked about this album is the lack of variation in song topics. Most of these songs were about girls and/or relationships. “Baby, I think I’ve lost my mind, feels like you crashed into my life,” “But you’re the one that I can’t have, girl, I want you bad,” and ” I like them Cali girls, valley girls, like the way they move, love the things they do,” are examples of some lyrics I found pertaining to the topic of girls. It would of been nice to hear more songs that were on a variety of topics.
Overall, the album was fun to listen to. This was a good debut album for R5. It was a huge improvement from their self released EP. The songs sound more crisp and better-produced in “Louder” compared to the EP.
This album is not one you would find in my music library, but if you are looking for something fun and pop sounding to listen to, I would recommend for you to take a listen.
