"Hands All Over," the latest album from Maroon 5, is like that rusty bicycle sitting in your garage: It still works, but it no longer has that allure it did in the store window. Maroon 5's most recent endeavor is agreeable yet simultaneously stale; it's nothing we haven't heard before. The band seems to have found a solid niche but is continuously unwilling to experiment with their sound. The tracks on "Hands All Over," although enjoyable, meld together into an indistinguishable soup of similarity.
The band, formed in 2001, consists of lead singer and guitarist Adam Levine, guitarist James Valentine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden and drummer Matt Flynn. The quintet was thrust into the mainstream after songs from their first album, "Songs About Jane" (2002), gained popularity. Singles like "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved" became radio staples, and turned Maroon 5 into a familiar pop-rock group.
Catchy chart-topping singles and a platinum-selling album set the stage for Maroon 5's 2007 sophomore venture, "It Won't Be Soon Before Long." Although it didn't reach quite the same level of success as their first album, the second still managed to break iTunes sales records and generate more hits, like the ubiquitous "Makes Me Wonder." With these impressive achievements, the band prepared for the debut of their third album, "Hands All Over," this year.
"Hands All Over," is in no way a flop; rather, it's a musical flat-line. There is little discernible difference between this latest venture and previous Maroon 5 albums. As a band, Maroon 5 is startlingly unprogressive, still caught up in their old "Songs About Jane" style. This is not to say that their original sound is elementary or underdeveloped, rather that their music has always been fairly mature and well-received, but now the band is becoming a Johnny One Note. "Hands All Over" simply fails to keep things fresh.
The album's opener is also its first single: the recent chart-topping hit "Misery," an infectious and rhythmic tune best heard through car speakers. Two songs later we arrive at the feel-good, put-a-smile-on-your-face "Stutter," characterized by entertaining lyrics and jovial melody. Later in the album we hear "Never Gonna Leave This Bed," which is significantly lighter and more piano driven, and exudes the same bright and spirited vibe. In contrast, "Runaway" catches listeners off-guard with a soft, somewhat sultry intro, yet less than a minute in the chorus again reverts to the same trite melodies of the previous tracks.
Sonically, the album is far from diverse, and thematically it is even more mundane. In standard fashion, nearly every song on "Hands All Over" focuses on the trials of love, a subject so nauseatingly overused in popular music that listeners have become immune to it. Take, for instance, the lyrics to the eighth track, "How": "Though I don't understand the meaning of love, I do not mind if I die trying … ohhh/And I have been bound by the shackles of love, and I do not mind if I die tied up … ohhh." It's so clichéd that it isn't at all compelling. Phrases like these are littered throughout the album. Although the tunes are decent enough to string the songs along for a couple of verses, without interesting lyrics the album loses what little flavor it had to begin with.
There are, however, a few exceptions to this trend of repetition. "Don't Know Nothing" is a smooth jazz-inspired, bass-powered tune that doesn't entirely conform to the album's modus operandi. The title track, "Hands All Over" is marked by chanting and echoing, and, though overall a disappointing track, it stands out because of the interesting vocals. Finally, "No Curtain Call" is a darker, more dramatic piece, unique because of its use of violins and intense drumming.
Although there are a couple songs that shake up the status quo of the album, most do not deviate from the norm. Overall, "Hands All Over" is a pleasant compilation of cheerful instrumentation, light-hearted beats and Levine's cool stream of falsetto vocals. Yet because these elements are evident in almost every song, listeners will find it difficult to identify the individual tracks until about the fourth time through. The similarity of the songs and the parallels between this album and their previous releases detract from the ultimate success of "Hands All Over." Maroon 5's true musical potential clearly exists, but it will never be realized until they choose to break out of their own mold.
