5 Seconds of Summer’s Michael Clifford Blasts to the Past With Solo Debut ‘Cool’

Back in 2015, 5 Seconds of Summer inadvertently immortalized one of the most unnerving events in their lore-packed history when they titled a deep cut on their sophomore album “Catch Fire.” Months before the record arrived on the pop rock-infused Sounds Good, Feels Good, their guitarist Michael Clifford was burned by pyrotechnics onstage during a concert in London. He physically recovered, but after nearly a decade, the incident and the whirlwind experience of enduring the early years of 5SOS are still stirring up new contemplations. Only this time, Clifford is dissecting them more intentionally through music as he launches his solo debut album, Sidequest, with the reflective single “Cool.”

“I guess I don’t see whatever she sees in me/confidence doesn’t come so easily/When you’re the guy who caught fire with the colored hair/From the band with the song about underwear,” Clifford sings on the bridge of the pop-punk record, which he co-produced with Andrew Goldstein and JT Daly. For what it’s worth, 5SOS have released four full-length studio albums since sharing “She Looks So Perfect” on their self-titled debut. Their most recent, the pristine pop record 5SOS5, saw Clifford step up as a primary producer for the first time. He also leads the bonus cut “Emotions,” which aligns musically and thematically with the direction of his solo efforts.

Last year, Clifford told Rolling Stone: “I’m a serial over-thinker when it comes to anything in terms of my own production. Sometimes it’s crippling, and I’ll just be completely frozen to the point where I’m like, well, I don’t know if this is good, and I don’t know if changing it is good … I’m realizing that there are other incredibly talented people who, if they think something is great, then I’m just sort of being crazy and overthinking the tiny little things. It got to the place that it got to for a reason and maybe you don’t need to dissect things into oblivion in order for it to be any better.”

“Cool” marks Clifford’s first release under his recording deal with Hopeless Records. The label is home to Neck Deep, Pvris, Stand Atlantic, and more with an alumni roster that includes All Time Low, Yellowcard, Waterparks, and Sum 41. 5SOS’ earliest influences existed at similar intersections, but took on less distinct fingerprints as the band sharpened their approach to pop music. But being on his own allows Clifford to lean back into the sound and structure of pop punk as a storytelling device. “It’s kinda hard trying to fit into a new scene/When your clothes only fit in 2015,” he sings over hurried guitars. “You’re the only one I really wanna impress/Try hard and I wish that I could care less.”

Clifford is the third member of 5SOS to launch a solo project. Frontman Luke Hemmings released his debut solo album When Facing the Things We Turn Away From in 2021 before returning with the similarly nostalgia-drenched project Boy in 2024. Drummer Ashton Irwin also has two solo projects under his belt, 2020’s Superbloom and 2024’s Blood on the Drums. The band’s bassist, Calum Hood, is credited as a co-writer on “Cool,” but otherwise has been spending a lot of time on TikTok recently.

“We’ve been a band for 12 years, which is so crazy. I was 15 when we started; now I’m 27,” Hemmings told Rolling Stone last year. “I know solo projects can be scary for fans of bands, but for me it’s the way that the band can live on forever. In my eyes, that’s the way I see it. And I encourage everyone else in the band to follow whatever they want to do — if they’re having time off, having a kid, mowing their lawn. Whatever makes you happy.”

From Rolling Stone US.