Doing my second review on an album by five people; possibly biting off more than I can chew. We'll just have to see.
7/27 is the second album from Fifth Harmony, a "girl group" formed on the X-Factor. It was released on May 7, 2016, and like most of these "low-stakes" pop albums, produced by so many different people. Some of the most notable are Kygo, Stargate, and The Monsters and the Strangerz. This album, like my last, is a formidable 12 songs (on the deluxe edition).
This album is, in my opinion, so much of an improvement to Reflections. Though it doesn't have as many empowering hits, Fifth Harmony is able to embrace their maturity while still maintaining a fun, youthful feel for the majority of the songs on 7/27. Though some of the songs do seem slightly pointless and overly bubblegum, most of this album is very satisfactory. I'm going to try to keep opinions about certain members of the group out of my review, instead vying to discuss Fifth Harmony as a whole. Nevertheless, I think that the vocals are very balanced on this album; everyone has a fair amount of parts to show off in.
The album starts VERY strong, and I don't know if this is a great idea to put what is possibly the best song on the album first; "That's My Girl" may raise fan's expectations too high. This song is an empowering feminist anthem that really showcases each of Fifths Harmony's different vocal styles. The production on this track is phenomenal, leaving listeners really hyped for the buildup that satisfies quite well. The sawtooth synths at the end also are a nice touch. Though the lyrics aren't amazing, they do contain some clever references that I even can recognize; for example, some from the JayZ song "Dirt off Your Shoulder". This song sounds like the evolved form of "Work From Home"; I can't help wonder if this album would've got better reception if it was released first.
As I just referenced, the second song is "Work From Home". Despite the media success of this song, I never felt like it was particularly special. The whisper-sung verses and the bland choruses just make this song feel very underwhelming. Ty Dolla $ign's verse might just have the most personality in the whole production-carried song.
The album quickly recovers from "Work From Home" in the song "The Life". This is another empowering song, though it does have more of a focus on Fifth Harmony's personal success. The catchy chorus, the stellar production, and the satisfying verses with sassy lyrics make this song one of the best on the album.
"Write On Me" is a bland take at a slower song. The strange lyrics and boring, unfitting Kygo production (For real, does he EVER make a different sound) lead to a song with only one real purpose: individual showcases for each member.
The album overall seems to have a theme of alternating between bad songs and good songs. "I Lied" is a refreshing electropop ballad that feels really good. The way that the vocals are layered in the pre-chorus sounds amazing, and the lyrics are also very unique : "I said I love you, but I lied/Cause love never got me this high." The drop in this song is unexpected but suitable for the theme of this song.
"All In My Head (Flex)" is an obviously reggae inspired song with a tropical feel. It starts surprisingly with Fetty Wap's.... strange singing style. Though it takes a bit of deciphering to actually figure out what he's saying, he fits quite well. The production seems kind of lazy, and the lyrics are mediocre, especially because the second verse is just an improved sassier version of the first, with the same words. Overall, this song is okay; nothing amazing, but nothing really bad.
The next song, "Squeeze", breaks the trend of above/below average alternating songs. This song sounds cheesy, the lyrics are lazy, and it reminds me of the worst parts of the early 2000s. Even more, the production work at the chorus is absolutely insufferable. This is quite possibly the worst song on the album.
"Gonna Get Better" returns to the positive side of the album. Again, this song shows off every member of Fifth Harmony's specific talents, even though it seems strange considering the very personal message of the song. The happy, re-assuring message of this song feels more genuine than their other similarly happy re-assuring messages.This song sounds like it's meant to sing live with simple guitars and drums, which is in this case a good thing.
"Scared Of Happy" sounds slightly similar to the previous song, but is more upbeat, and is electropop. The drop is strange, but if fits the tune of the song quite well. The lyrics aren't exceptional, but they're slightly above average. This is another one of the songs on the album that is carried by the great production; I certainly didn't expect this to happen so much on an album like this.
"Not That Kind of Girl" is a funky, early 2000s to late 90s inspired dance song. The lyrics are fun and quirky, and it includes a ludicrous feature from the former rap superstar Missy Elliot. The members of Fifth Harmony swearing might startle some, but it fits. The song is extremely sassy, and I can't really find anything to complain about for it.
"Dope", the eleventh song on the deluxe edition, is one of those "crush" songs that emerge every once in a while. It sounds ambitious but insecure, which actually fits the theme of the song pretty well. This song is made by that one lyric in the chorus: "I don't know what else to say but you're pretty f*cking dope". "Dope" starts slow and subdued, before leading into a louder even more vulnerable bridge.
"No Way" has a far more grungy and vulnerable production style than the other songs on the 7/27. This song is probably the most emotional song on the whole album, about a rocky breakup. It's very notable that you can hear their breathing patterns far more than any of their other songs, making it sound even more genuine. The lyrics are raw and vulnerable, and I personally think that this song should've been on the standard album instead of wasting a space on some of the more mediocre tracks.
Fifth Harmony does lose quite a few points in my book for one core reason; they only co-wrote one song on this entire album. With five people, you'd think that they could be able to do some decent songwriting themselves. That's the issue with girl groups and boy bands; they do so little in the actual making of their songs.
As far as the music goes, this album does have weak points, but overall it sounds really good, with a pretty diverse track spread. There are definitely some single-worthy songs on 7/27.
Final Verdict:
63/100
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