Fast Summer, endless heatwave

Just because they’re boys and they sing about girls, you can’t automatically assume that Australia’s 5 Seconds of Summer is “just another boy band making pop music”. Since its inception in 2010 in Sydney, the quartet has steadily raised its profile with perky, fun covers of Chris Brown and Justin Bieber’s “Next to You” (600,000 views on YouTube) and an EP titled “Unplugged”.
Despite having had no promotion outside Facebook and Twitter, “Unplugged” reached No 3 on the iTunes chart in Australia and the Top 20 in New Zealand and Sweden.
Among their fans are members of the British “not actually a boy band”, One Direction, who tapped 5 Seconds of Summer as a support act for their Take Me Home Tour, which took the Australians across Europe, the US and all the way home to Sydney for a seven-show run.
With their debut single, “She Looks So Perfect”, climbing the charts in Europe, the band is now working on its debut album. We yanked bassist Calum Hood and guitarist Michael Clifford aside for a chat.

You’ve got some records flying around.
Hood: We just finished the UK tour, we’re just waiting until the new single and EP come out, and then maybe we’ll get a promo out.

How did 5 Seconds happen?
Hood: Michael and Luke and I went to school together. Then Luke started including me with him and acoustic guitar when we were, like, 15. We played a gig and we needed to come up with a drummer, which was Ashton.

Why only “5 seconds” when Australia gets so much sun?
Hood: [Laughs] I think five is just a good number.

What kinds of music did you grow up listening to?
Hood: I grew up listening to a lot of great punky stuff, like All Time Low and Green Day. Green Day actually got me into playing music.
Clifford: I wanted to make music in a band like All Time Low, Green Day, Blink 182. We just wanted to be like them.

How would you describe your sound?
Hood: It’s definitely guitar. It’s a bit edgy, but it’s still pop. We love good melodies, driving guitars, good drums, great bass – definitely great bass!

“She Looks So Perfect” is a cute song. Is the girl based on a real character?
Clifford: I’m not sure. We worked with Jake Sinclair, who came to us with the lyrics. I think it’s all about his girlfriend or a girl he wanted to go out with.

The video is also very fun, but why does everyone strip to their underwear in the end?
Hood: Basically the concept of the video is to make them strip, to be honest. It’s a little crazy [laughs].

Your EP has hit No 1 in 36 countries. How does that make you feel?
Hood: That’s absolutely crazy! We did not expect that at all, to be honest. And at the time I had no phone, so I didn’t really know what was happening. I only heard later. It makes us proud to see how close we are with our fans. I think they trust us and we have similar taste in music.

You’re big stars at home in Sydney, then.
Clifford: We’re not too bad in Sydney, actually. They don’t follow us heavily, though.

What about school: How do you keep up with that as well as a career in music?
Hood: We actually have to try going to school. It got really bad, but it’s not as bad as when we started two years ago. We’re not really smart [laughs].

How do you plan to avoid the fate of so many new artists these days who come and go fast depending on the whims of the social media?
Hood: I’m not sure what I think because this thing with the social media is just putting pressure on bands. Anything could happen. But, as far as I’m looking at it, people still support us and we appreciate them. That’s what counts.

What’s the plan for the rest of 2014?
Hood: I think we’re releasing an album, and we have to do the tour before that.


Virtual seconds
The band’s website is at www.5SoS.com.