5 Seconds of Summer member Ashton Irwin released his first solo album, Superbloom. Irwin was in the band since 2011 and was friends with the rest of the band members even before that. The whole album was made in the time of self-quarantine and the lockdown in his own house. Although he released a solo album, the drummer is still in the band as well, planning to make more music with the three other men. On the album are tracks such as singles “Skinny, Skinny”, “Have U Found What Ur Looking For?”, and “SCAR”. The album is great overall, however, there are some things I personally didn’t like.

Most of the tracks are phenomenal, such as the track “SCAR”. Lyrically and vocally, the song is outstanding. It has a nice feel and it’s relatable, as it is about pushing through even when the world scars you and leaning on people to help you through it. It seems to be inspired by ‘90s rock, as does the whole album. 

Another great song on the album is “Have U Found What Ur Looking For?”. Some of the vocals come off sounding childish, but overall, the vocals are good. Lyrically, it’s very relatable, being about overcoming mental struggles and challenging yourself to find yourself as a person. The song’s beat alone could get you hooked on it, it’s drum-heavy so it gives a very rock feel.

The track “Skinny, Skinny”, however, I did not like. Not all of it was bad, I didn’t mind the beat and feel, but vocally it didn’t hold its weight on the album. The message of the song, however, I did enjoy. It brings light to issues such as negative body image and self-confidence in your appearance.

“Greyhound” is track four on the album. The song is my personal favorite, due to the vocals, melody, and lyrics. It’s a little dark, but that’s why I like it, it’s real and raw. It’s about his family’s frustration and endless cycle of birth, work, and death. The song vocally seems harder than the others, it’s more chest voice and belting than the others, therefore it seems more impressive.  

Track five is “Matter of Time (Interlude)”. The song is only two minutes and 24 seconds, therefore not having many lyrics or vocals. The backtrack was nice though, it was very calming and relaxing.

The next song, “Sunshine”, is also wonderful. Vocally, you hear a little more of his higher range. The message of the song is very positive, he’s telling you that even though life sucks sometimes, look at the sunshine, not just today, not just tomorrow, but always. This song is a little more contemporary, featuring orchestra instruments.

“The Sweetness”, track six, is another favorite of mine. It sounds a lot like ‘80s-90s rock, very heavily guitar-based, it just has the feel of a Metallica song. The song is very repetitive, but it’s still an excellent song. My interpretation of the song is that it’s about the ups and downs one goes through with mental health issues.

Track seven, “I’m To Blame”, is about the end of a relationship ending and the other person not taking any blame. The beat and the lyrics are both exceptional. The track includes a piano and drum feature at the beginning. The song has a darker feel than most of the other tracks.

“Drive” is an amazing song. It has an electric piano featured and it has a completely different feeling than the other songs on the album. The song is about not letting grief take you over and letting someone be there for you when you need someone, particularly after a breakup. It’s much more of Irwin’s lower range, not as much higher range although there is a little. 

“Perfect Lie”, Irwin has admitted, is about his previous band and how fake it was. The songwriting aspect was manufactured and wasn’t based on reality. The song’s lyrics reveal that 5SOS was breaking him and he didn’t feel like he could even be himself, they had to ‘fake it to make it’ in a sense. The song feels creepier than any of the other songs, it almost sounds like machines of some sort, it’s rather haunting.