Fifth Harmony - Fifth Harmony


Fifth Harmony
Fifth Harmony
2017
Spotify

After the very public and very nasty exit of Camila Cabello this is the first new album from Fifth Harmony and their third major release overall. This one had to be a statement piece because keeping the name Fifth Harmony with four members is...well...odd. There are moments of pop brilliance on the record, but there are also parts that just miss the mark by such a wide margin it is hard to keep your bearings. Fifth Harmony have always employed the sexy pop centered R&B and they don't really deviate here at all. You would expect the pressure of losing a member would push the group to grow and try some new things, but you'd be wrong. The first track which features Gucci Mane, who has managed to be on hit after hit since getting out of Prison, can;t even save this track from being boring as hell. "Sauced Up" has some of the worst production I have heard in awhile seemingly almost one note throughout the entire track. It doesn't just end there though, the song is obviously about drinking with that title but every line is some strange metaphor about drinking and partying. "Disaronno on the rocks/Fireball lemon drop/It's one o'clock on the dot/Shut up boy you talk a lot" is just one of the parts that leave you scratching your head. "Make You Mad" has a nice little tropical house beat to it, but it is such well worn territory lyrically that it hardly makes an impact. Not one sounds like Fifth Harmony are breaking ground, or even doing something that any other girl group couldn't do. They have to have something that sets them apart, something to make them more than a wanna be Destiny's Child but there is nothing, not even the Beyonce-like star power.

The thing is though, this will get major airplay, it will be on in every mall in America and Fifth Harmony will likely chart. It's really what is wrong with the music industry today; generic pop gets pushed to the forefront regardless of it's merit. Each song almost has the exact same progression just with a little different flavor on the production making it feel so incredibly one note throughout. What would really make this album soar would be, and hold on to your seat for this one: HARMONIES! Where are those chill inducing vocal runs? Where are the soaring melodies? They are totally absent on Fifth Harmony and instead they try to be so hip hop focused that they loose the point of an all girl group. On the chorus for "Angel" we get a little harmonization, but it kinda fucking sucks and the attempt at a deep and dark beat with these lyrics just doesn't work. You would at least expect something to be catchy, and I guess "Messy" slightly is, but everything else goes in one ear and out the other. "Bridges" is the political song on the record, but it is just chalked full of bullshit platitudes in hopes of appealing to the masses. It's like Fifth Harmony are always chasing a sound rather than making one of their own, but this is what happens when you try and make a group via algorithm. Fifth Harmony will sell millions of records and make everyone a bunch of dough, but if you are reading this don't listen.

3.0 out of 10

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