jachaboppo

one thing to keep in mind while listening to maroon 5 is that adam levine is kind of pathetic. and so, maroon 5 works best when adam levine is being pathetic, sleazy, lovesick, and even a little douchey. it's part of what made songs about jane so good, and why i enjoyed songs like won't go home without you, nothing lasts forever, and goodnight goodnight as well. conversely, when adam levine tries to be sexy (which he very much is not), it falls flat like much of maroon 5's later ... read more

i always feel like such a bum listening to music clearly acclaimed by a majority of people and just not getting it. i liked it, i guess? it doesn't even lack the "magic" or "sauce" like a lot of 6/10 albums do for me, it just might not be my flavor. oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ultimately a very same-y and somewhat boring album, but it at least features the 2 standout tracks of temptation and bombay dreams. there are also some bits of interesting/groovy production or instrumentation that i'd love to see sampled.

it's wild how much more i enjoyed this album compared to thank u, next. funny story, i actually listened to the deluxe version without even realizing it, but it was fine since i didn't vibe as much with the added songs anyway. (minus touch it. a shame it didn't make the main album)