Album Review: 5 Seconds Of Summer - 5 Seconds Of Summer

5 Seconds Of Summer have been running on exceptional luck for a while now: discovered by One Direction's Louis Tomlinson via YouTube, going from the backyards of western Sydney to opening arena shows for a pop juggernaut, they've notched up their fair share of iTunes #1 spots based entirely off pre-orders. Fans will be the first to exclaim that their debut has been a long time coming by pop standards.

What we have here is earnest, by-the-numbers pop-punk music; songs for windmilling across stage with swinging guitars around their necks, to sing to girls with 'heart' eyes in the front rows of shows; songs that'll eventually be played in stadiums with voices echoing all the nagging, catchy choruses. The double-hit opener of She Looks So Perfect and Don't Stop sets the tone for the record's entirety: a fun, gallivanting affair of jagged guitar riffs, claps, nasal harmonies and a whole lot of heart.

The theme is girls; strong girls who are in charge of their actions (Good Girls), girls they miss (Beside You), girls they're definitely a little infatuated with (Kiss Me Kiss Me). Unsurprisingly, their downfall is a drastic lack of variety. There's not much to the pop-punk formula, and 5SOS aren't reinventing it. English Love Affair's choppy riffs are a rare moment of difference, but they could spend more time exploring the broader scope of the genre they're emulating. They could stand to drop the American accents too.