Sophomore albums are difficult to do well and many bands have suffered from the sophomore album curse. That curse is one of the reasons that the second album is so hotly anticipated from any band, but when that band is Maroon 5 and the first album was as good, and as successful, as Songs About Jane that anticipation can become a frenzied delirium. So it’s no wonder that they waited five years to give us their second album, or maybe they thought they could cheat the sophomore album curse by first releasing several live albums. Well, from the sound of It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, arguably the most fervently awaited album of 2007, it worked.
The ridiculously named It Won’t Be Soon Before Long is the blockbuster album we were all told it would be. Maroon 5 couldn’t have shrugged off the notorious curse any more convincingly than this. Hooky, melodic and with just enough of that smooth, bluesy Maroon 5 sound to appeal to their existing fan-base but with more dancey, dazzling, white-boy funk than you could throw Jamiroquai at, to appeal to those passing fans who may be looking for a grown-up, substantially more sexual version of Justin Timberlake. It Won’t Be Soon Before Long is Maroon 5 at a party, listening to Curiosity Killed the Cat, smoking Prince with Sting, while wearing Michael Jackson’s glittery glove.
It can be hard to take seriously a band with such a notoriously vapid and vacuous frontman as 
Adam Levine — who, it seems, is single-handedly trying to ensure that no vacant, insipid, Hollywood starlet spends enough time alone to read a book and grow a little as a person (for which I’m sure we all owe him a debt of gratitude, what would Hollywood be without plastic people). But for all that he appears so meagre, the sleek veneer of GQ-model polish he exudes, lends itself well to Soon. Perfectly produced, with an effortlessly smooth sound, distinctive, lusty, falsetto vocals and consummate, harmonious musicianship, this is one album that has been given a glossy, lustrous finish.
And with that burnished glow, Soon is a fabulous pop-rock album. It is completely accessible, boy-next-door funk with a dark, sultry edge. Levine’s ability to write a melancholy ballad — too rival even Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody — is still present but with a slightly more hopeful twist. This time he might be able to love you — and you know you want him to. The lustful lyrics are dexterously complimented by a new groovier, grown-up sound, which has now lost all remnants of the alt.rock flourishes present on Jane.
Some of the highlights of the album include, the one-two knock-out punch and soulful dance grooves of opening tracks, “If I Never See Your Face Again” and “Makes Me Wonder” followed by the fastest track on the album “Little Of Your Time”. But my favourite track is “Kiwi” drenched in wet, erotic imagery layered on by Levine with lyrics like “I wanna give you something better/ Than anything you’ve ever had/ A stronger and a faster lover/ The world will disappear so fast.” And the deliciously graphic line “Sweet kiwi/ Your juices dripping down my chin/ So please, let me/ Don’t stop it before it begins”. Although someone should tell Levine that in this instance, as a rule faster isn’t better.
And what about romantic ballads dripping with sentimentality and barely constrained sexual desire? They are present and in fine fettle with “Won’t Go Home Without You” and “Nothing Lasts Forever” two fine examples of the regret-filled heartbreak that no one does as sensually as Maroon 5. “Goodnight Goodnight” is reminiscent of Jane with the melancholy guitar hook and lyrics “I’m sorry, I did not mean/ To hurt my little girl/ It’s beyond me, I cannot carry/ The weight of a heavy world”. What could be more poignantly heartbroken?
And the final track, a standout showstopper, “Back At Your Door”; the only track on Soon NOT written, or contributed to by Levine, written solely by Jesse Carmichael (keyboards, backing vocals). It’s a sweet, meandering, bluesy, heartache-filled ballad that finishes Soon with a sad-eyed, over-the-shoulder smile. The boys did good, very good. Levine and co. take a couple of depthless starlets out of petty cash, you’ve earned it.
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