Sometime Last Night

Background

R5 released their debut studio album Louder in September 2013, featuring the singles "Loud", "Pass Me By", "(I Can't) Forget About You" and "One Last Dance". The band promoted the album touring North America, Europe and South America. They later released their second EP, Heart Made Up on You, which they described as a "first taste" of their second studio album. The album was set to be released in spring 2015; however, Rocky Lynch announced that it was pushed back because they wanted to "get it right" for the fans. The songs from the Heart Made Up on You EP were originally scheduled to appear on the album, but R5 scrapped them and the rest of their album in favor of starting over.

Production

The album's production started in summer 2014, shortly after the band ended the Louder World Tour. They released the Heart Made Up on You EP, the songs on which were scheduled to appear on Sometime Last Night. However, due to further production and revisions, Ross Lynch announced in a radio interview that the band has decided these songs will not appear on the album, because they wanted a "blank slate". Rydel Lynch also confirmed in a tweet that no songs from the EP will be featured on the album. They wanted to "get it right" for the fans, and have therefore gone through the album multiple times before finalizing it.

Composition

Sometime Last Night is mainly a pop record with rock, funk and dance music elements The album opener, "All Night", is a pop rock and power pop song about "sacrificing sleep to just live it up and experience everything you can". It's been described as an "uplifting '80s-meets-2010s" track. "Wild Hearts" fuses "brilliantly shifting tempos," with "massive beats, and irresistibly sweet harmonies into an all-out powerhouse of an anthem." "Dark Side" has been described as a disco-pop song with funk influences. It was compared to Michael Jackson. The album's second single, "Let's Not Be Alone Tonight", is a "bubblegum" power pop song which features a "techno synth". "Repeating Days", a "slowed down" track, blends sad lyrics with melancholy guitar tones, gently pulsing beats and raw vocals. When the song seems to be over, it unfolds into a stripped-back acoustic pastiche in its final minute. "Repeating Days" is about a relationship Rocky was in. "That song was inspired by [...] a slightly dysfunctional situation where the same thing kept happening over and over and it just went on way too long," he explained. "Smile", the album's lead single is about "the simplicity of just happiness". "Lightning Strikes" is a "dark" rock-influenced track performed by Rydel. It is her second solo song, the first one being "Love Me Like That", included on Louder. "F.E.E.L. G.O.O.D." is a "fun, disco-throwback" R&B-influenced song. "I Know You Got Away" shows off "some nice arrangement skills" and a "sweepin power pop chorus" and features a powerful bass arrangement. "Do It Again" was described as a "lovely summer pop perfection." "Do It Again", along with album closer "Did You Have You Fun?", "reflect the lyrical tendencies of the group that are focused on the good and bad of relationships as well as their classic rock and pop infused sound".

Release

On April 6, 2015, along with the release of the "Let's Not Be Alone Tonight" music video, R5 finally announced the title and release date of the album. Sometime Last Night will be available worldwide on July 10, 2015. On May 26, R5 revealed the titles of two new songs called "Wild Hearts" and "All Night". The following day, they revealed the title of another song called "Dark Side". On May 28, the title of another song called "Repeating Days" was also revealed. The band also confirmed that "Let's Not Be Alone Tonight" is track 4 of the album. Riker tweeted to confirm "Smile". On June 2, Sometime Last Night was available for iTunes pre-order, along with the release of the third single, "All Night". To correspond with the release of the album, audio versions of all standard edition songs were uploaded to the band's vevo account on YouTube.

Reception

Sometime Last Night received positive reviews from critics. Although most of them were positive towards the mature sound of the album, some criticized their lack of identity as a band. Jamey Beth from Breakaway Daily said "Sometime Last Night [is] a selection of arena-sized pop songs shot through with gorgeously crafted melodies, electrifying harmonies, and lyrics culled from real-life stories the band’s been through over the past few years." Martha Segovia from Confront Magazine rated the album 3 and a half stars out of five. She wrote: "Overall, the album is produced in a way that accurately states how the band has developed and [...] [they] offer an easy-listening experience that has your head bopping along to each track, and singing along contently." Comparing it to 2013's Louder, Tim Senda from Allmusic said that "Sometime Last Night doesn't get bogged down in soggy ballads, but instead deals in chipper, big-chorused midtempo pop." He also praised the band's songwriting and Ross and Riker's vocals. Finally, Senda rated Sometime Last Night 3 and a half out of five.

Sometime Last Night debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart dated August 1, selling 31,000 units in the week ending July 16. It became the highest-charting album for the group so far.

Singles

"Smile" was released as the lead single from Sometime Last Night on November 14, 2014. Despite not being a commercial success, the song was met with positive reviews from critics. "Let's Not Be Alone Tonight" became the sophomore single off the album on February 13, 2015 and it was the first sent to mainstream radio. "All Night" was released as the third single on June 2, along with the album's iTunes pre-order. "I Know You Got Away" was released as the fourth single on October 16. "Dark Side" was released as the fifth single on February 1, 2016.

"F.E.E.L. G.O.O.D." was released as a promotional single from the album on June 30, 2015.

Tour

Sometime Last Night was further promoted with a world tour, the Sometime Last Night Tour.