Calum Hood assures fans 5SOS is ‘thriving’ as he releases solo record

Aussie band 5 Seconds of Summer have pulled off the rare feat of all four members releasing solo records as the group is still active.

Calum Hood has “emphatically” reassured fans of global chart-toppers 5 Seconds of Summer the band is not splitting up.

The bassist is the fourth member of the Aussie stream kings to unveil a solo project with his debut album ORDER chaos ORDER released this week.

Back home in Sydney for the big reveal, Hood said he understood fans and music industry commentators assumed the raft of solo releases from himself, Luke Hemmings, Ashton Irwin and Michael Clifford signalled the end of the pop rockers after 15 years.

It is incredibly rare for several members of any act to pursue solo careers while their band was still active with The Beatles, Rolling Stones, KISS and Fleetwood Mac among those who flexed their solo muscles as the group continued.

Calum Hood was the final member of the group to announce a solo album. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“Emphatically, 5SOS is not over and actually, quite thriving,” Hood said. “This might be a bit weird to people but we revel in doing things people think we shouldn’t do.”

Hood said the solo efforts of his bandmates had given him a “good blueprint for how to do it”.

Clifford released his debut solo single Cool in April ahead of the release of his album Sidequest next month while both Hemmings and Irwin have dropped two records each since 2020.

It took Hood more than two years to craft the atmospheric, synth-heavy sound for the songs for ORDER chaos ORDER as he battled the inherent anxiety artists suffer when they start a new project.

“You know me, I’m an anxious boy anyway, but I never had that with the band; I was never anxious about releasing 5SOS songs,” he said.

Ashton Irwin, Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford and Calum Hood have big plans for the next 5SOS album. Picture: Justin Lloyd

His solo songs are mostly of the sad boy variety, dealing heartbreak and the tyranny of distance playing havoc on relationships with family and friends when you are always on the road.

One track “Dark Circles” explores the “fantasy” of what life would be like if 5SOS didn’t exist.

“Obviously it’s a question that’s coming up a lot with all these solo things happening. Is the band OK?” Hood said.

“The answer is the band is great, but (for that song) it was on my mind that if shit hit the fan, it would be devastating for me. I’ve spent half my life in the band, it has shaped who I am.”

The band’s bassist said fans have been shocked by one particular aspect of his solo project as he has travelled the world recently to promote the record.

“There’s a big joke amongst the fans that ‘Oh, he’s actually talking,’ which is really funny,” Hood said.

“In the band, I guess I’m the more reserved one but I actually have a f … ing lot to say!”

While he has played some acoustic gigs to launch the project, Hood has no plans to go on a world tour, hinting that he is required to get back to his full-time gig with 5SOS.

“It was such a big deal for me just to release this music. When there is another record, if there’s space and the time allows and it feels good, then we will see what happens about touring.”

Originally published as Calum Hood assures fans 5SOS is ‘thriving’ as he releases solo record