JORDI / Maroon 5 / June 11, 2021
- Joshua Yoo
- Jun 29, 2021
- 1 min read
Three decades into their career, Maroon 5 have managed to impressively maintain their position in the realm of mainstream pop, assimilating their sound more and more to the evolving patterns and trends of the charts. With their latest release, the group reaches an all-time low, attempting to appeal to as many demographics as possible, and losing sight of their identity and individuality in the process.
A large buffet of styles are provided for listeners on ‘JORDI’, but practically none of them are constructed creatively or compellingly, to the point where the efforts begin to appear desperate in their motives. The sung rap delivery and trap rhythms on “Seasons” carry none of the charisma or flow of the style it tries to emulate, the utterly bland and pale imitation of rock on “Remedy” does a disservice to Stevie Nicks, and the warm ‘80s nostalgia of the H.E.R.-assisted “Convince Me Otherwise” loses its charm to unfocused writing.
Even at the core of their artistry, Maroon 5 struggles with the basics on this album. Thematic depth has never been an expectation from them, but the songwriting and structuring throughout the album possibly reach a new level of dullness for the group (“Lost”). And vocal performances from Adam Levine sound more hollow, flat, and synthetic than ever before (“Lovesick”).
Given the trajectory of their artistic output now, there doesn’t seem to be much hope for a future where the band doesn’t continue to produce trite, chart-appeasing, genre-mushing music for the masses. ‘JORDI’ only works to solidify this sentiment.
Highlight(s): Echo
Lowlight(s): Lost, Seasons, Remedy, Lovesick, Convince Me Otherwise, Nobody’s Love
SCORE: 2/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOwlU2W3WiM
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