Blue light killed the dreamer somewhere in the dark under anaesthesia

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts

21/11/25 : Everyone's A Star! - 5 Seconds Of Summer

Somewhat surprisingly, this is our fourth visit with 5SOS and their albums have been getting progressively worse, so I can't say my expectations are massively high.

Nah, this is fine actually - but certainly no better than fine. When reviewing their second album I noted that they didn't know if they wanted to be One Direction, Busted or Green Day and that's still very much the case here (with some added hints of Robbie Williams's particular brand of uncertainty). They're trying to be both popular and edgy, but pointing out you drink, smoke and have sex really isn't all that edgy when you're in your late twenties/early thirties. I can only assume their fans just follow them by default because there's nothing here to warrant a #1 album - but it's certainly an improvement on their fourth album.

As previously stated, we're at #1 with a new entry this week and the rest of the top five are Olivia Dean (that girl is doing well), Taylor Swift, D-Block Europe (a new entry) and Sabrina Carpenter. Once again we don't have too many new entries to review - I suspect the pre-Xmas rush of best-ofs will start next week...

D-Block Europe (#4)
I've endure a couple of their albums and a live performance and I still have absolutely no idea why anyone would want to subject themselves to this.

Celeste (#12)
We've met Celeste before and I was nicer about her than I remembered - and this was similarly better than expected. She's got a very decent voice but I always remember her music as being a froth but there's definitely some spine to it, wrapped in some very nice orchestral arrangements. I quite liked this. 

Summer Walker (#13)
I'd never heard of them so had no idea what to expect - it's actually quite nice solo female R&B. It's quite old school, but there's a bit more bite to the lyrics than you would have got back in the old days - I can't say I need this in my life but it's well done.

NF (#14)
I know I've met NF before because I remember thinking no-one would have called themselves NF in the 70s, but that's the only thing I remember about them. Ah yes, they're one of those younf in-touch-with-their-feelings male singer-songwriters - kinda Tom-Grennanish but a bit rappier. Not for me, I'm afraid.

Doves (#17)
They're the front runners in the pre-Xmas rush of best-ofs and I'm pretty certainly there will be plenty worse offerings than this one - it's worth checking out if you're not aware of them.

There are some very peculiar re-entries this week - an Oasis live album from '00 (#11 - for some reason this didn't chart during the summer), Tears For Fears (#20 - possibly a delayed 30th anniversary because it was released in February '95) and The Rolling Stones (#40 - a super-deluxe reissue of an album we've yet to meet, mixed by Steven Wilson and a mere £115!). But - the most important re-entry is at #44 this week - yes, Xmas is officially just around the corner because Bublé is back, baby!

Last week I said that Rosalia would have disappeared from view because of the foreign language thing but I'm very pleased to say I was hopelessly wrong and she's at #18 - good on her and the record "buying" public. I feel 5SOS will not do as well because I just don't see enough people caring about this, so let's go for #67. And this week's Taylor stats are one in the top forty and a mere four in the entire chart, with Lover having dropped out and Reputation (which, somewhat surprisingly, we have yet to meet) being at risk at #90 - is this the beginning of the end for the poor lass?

Wikipedia tells us its their sixth album - there's quite a bit more text there but it basically says the album exists and they're treating it a lot more seriously than I have, whilst also assuring everyone they're not taking it seriously at all. The critics were actually surprisingly nice about it ("a post-modern boyband album that's as sonically and thematically ambitious as it is fun") and it's done well commercially, getting to #1 in Australia, Austria and The Netherlands as well as here.

For a change, discogs.com isn't offering any versions for purchase at all- you'll just have to go to a normal shop if you're desperate for a physical copy of this (but I won't be doing so myself). It was bearable though and I can understand why some people like it, but Celeste takes the album of the week for me - it feels like it would be worth another listen.

14/11/25 - A very interesting album