5 Seconds Of Summer: For Better Or For Worse

With seven billion streams and counting and a fourth album just landed, 5 Seconds of Summer is reinventing pop-punk for a generation in turbulent times.

- Patrick Clark

As the world is on lock-down, the quartet is releasing an album in what might be the strangest circumstances ever. When we speak to lead singer Luke Hemmings, 23, album promo is taking on a new face(time): “It’s like night and day with how we would usually release an album,” he says. “Usually, at this time we’d be travelling everywhere, it would be very stressful, but we’d all be together every day.” Social distancing is in place – and has been for two weeks when we talk – so the band’s cement has been replaced by remote communication: “It’s odd that we can’t do anything in the same room, really. It’s been challenging, but obviously it is for all of us right now.” Hemmings is determined to stay positive, but mindful of the gravity of the situation.

5 Seconds of Summer’s fourth album, CALM, has just dropped. The name references what fans have been calling them for years: an acronym of Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin, Luke Hemmings and Michael Clifford. An evolution of the band’s pop-punk sound,