Calum Hood - Don’t Forget You Love Me
Following his other three bandmates from the pop-rock group 5 Seconds of Summer, Calum Hood has graced us with a debut single earlier this year before his new album, “ORDER chaos ORDER”! Unlike most other groups we’ve seen, 5SOS is no stranger to solo projects. The group consists of singer Luke Hemmings, drummer Ashton Irwin, guitarist Michael Clifford, and bassist Calum Hood. While Ashton, Luke have been releasing solo projects for years now, Michael and Calum are just beginning their debut solo careers. On April 10th, Calum released the first single off of his debut album ORDER chaos ORDER, set to come out this summer. Fans went into a frenzy at this news, excited to see some new music and thrilled to witness the start of Calum's solo career.
Upon my first listen of the track, there is a similar sound to Jack Antanoffs Bleachers. This track is a classic alternative pop tune that highlights the true talent of Hood's lyricism. As a long time 5SOS fan, their lyrics have always had a way of hitting very close to home, and conveying a beautiful message very casually and gracefully. This track was no different. Given that Hood is a relatively private individual when not promoting/touring with the rest of his band, fans (including myself) were curious to see how his solo music would sound. After listening to this first release off the upcoming album, it is clear that Hood has created a sound that separates himself from 5 Seconds of Summer. However, there is still a hint of that iconic pop-rock sound that 5SOS emulates!
Hood has spoken at length since announcing the debut of his solo career that this, in no way, separates him from his roots as the bassist of 5SOS. However, he does want to use his solo career to discuss topics or stories from his life that he feels he should tell on his own. This new track tells a story of attempting to maintain a relationship with someone you love while you are actively watching it fade. Not only is this track catchy, vibey, and overall a “no-skip” tune, it also tells a deep and meaningful story that so many fans listening will be able to relate to. This release was especially valuable to fans, as Hood doesn't speak much about his romantic life, so getting a glimpse into a more vulnerable side of him as an artist was an object of intrigue for his fans. Hood is mostly known nowadays for his dry and ironic humor on his social media. This made it no surprise when some of the lyrics of this new track followed that same path, creating a source of great meme content for the fanbase. Most fans were particularly attracted to the opening lyrics of the song. The track opens with the humorous lyric ‘12 A.M. on Taco Tuesday’, followed by ‘and I’m crying out my eyes, and I'm sitting here wondering if I wanna be alive’. This follow up left fans' heads turning, and the fandom immediately erupted with memes based around the whiplash of the lyrics.
One of my favorite aspects of this release is getting insight into Hood's musicality aside from just the bass guitar. Now that all four members of 5SOS have branched out into their own solo projects for a bit, we get to see a glimpse into what each individual member contributes to the band. After being together for years, and growing up with their fans, there's a little sprinkle of something for everyone as the fanbase matures and tastes change. So, if you are looking for a vibey alternative pop jam, Don't Forget You Love Me is definitely worth checking out along with the rest of ORDER chaos ORDER.