If you were a teenager in the early to mid-2010s you would have heard the song ‘She Looks so Perfect relentlessly throughout every radio station, and a repeat of this with “Youngblood.” However, now is the time for the band 5 Seconds of Summer, or 5sos, who created those songs to go their own separate ways. In no way are the band splitting up but taking a mini hiatus from their iconic Royal Albert Hall concert to focus on their solo careers. First to take this leap was drummer Ashton Irwin in 2020 with his album Superbloom. Now in 2025, it’s time for bassist Calum Hood to take the big step in becoming a solo artist with his album CHAOS order CHAOS.
The first two tracks are the two main singles that were released in preparation for this album. ‘Don’t Forget You Love Me’ establishes a dreamy tone for the album. Hood’s voice is very monotone but glides with the instrumental perfectly. Already, by the first track I already know I am going to absolutely love this album.
Winding into the second single, ‘Call Me When You Know Better’ is a love letter dressed as an apology. What I really like about this song is how it’s a reflection of mistakes from both sides of the argument and in the song they both talk over each other creating this incoherent bubble of confusion and self-pity. Throughout this album, both organic and computerised instruments are used, I feel that this sets Calum Hood apart from his 5 Seconds of Summer bandmates.
‘I wanted to stay’ is a track dedicated to Calum Hood’s deceased dog Duke. Instrumentally it is also very bass and drum heavy which helps to convey the heaviness of the song.
Despite the song being called ‘Sunsetter,’ this track helped to solidify the fact that if this album was a colour it would be a dark blue, which is seen with a lot of the promo of the album and also the cover which displays Calum Hood in a box slowly filling of water.
If someone asked me to play two songs to sell CHAOS order CHAOS to them, I wouldn’t pick the singles, I would choose songs which feature further down the album. The tracks are ‘Streetwise’ and ‘Dark Circles.’ An album for every emotion, in these mere 10 songs on the album Calum Hood encapsulates what it is like to be absorbed in self-pity. A perfect mix between songs that you can put on in the background and ones to listen to intently in the dark when you just need to wallow in your feelings for a bit. To order the chaos together, if this album was a vibe it would be the feeling when you drive through the city at night accompanied by the dim lighting of traffic lights.
Calum Hood: CHAOS order CHAOS – Out 13 June 2025 (Island EMI)
?si=XmZNuEEaaIXpbUms”>https://youtu.be/qyAXCqD8rCs?si=XmZNuEEaaIXpbUms
