The 5 AM has lit the fuse on rock ’n roll with ” Stop Wait A Minute,” the electric first serving from their debut LP "Big Lights City." Bordering on frenetic from the outset, the track takes listeners all across the kinetic ether of a place where funk, grunge, and classic rock come together like a perfect dissonant storm. It’s a sound that’s at once thrillingly new and familiar, and it’s hard not to get swept up by its infectious groove.
What hits you first when you hear “Stop Wait A Minute” is the amount of energy that The 5 AM injects into every beat. The guitars crunch with a grunge-y edge, and the bass lines lay out a funky underbelly that makes it completely danceable. And when that wall of a chorus slams home, it’s like a rush of sound that insists you sing along, a mark of the band’s ability to come up with hooks that get stuck in your head long after the stereo stops playing.
The song’s production rides a delicate balance between rock power and glossy modern sensibility. There’s a kinetic tension throughout the music. The grooves propel you forward, the riffs grab you by the collar, the vocals glide through the surf. Those who are keen on Rival Sons and The Cold Stares will find something immediately familiar here, yet The 5 AM inject their own essence, honing a sound that is proudly theirs.
“Stop Wait A Minute” is not so much a song as it is a musical experience. The song is classic 5 AM all over. Once again, combining the throaty punch of old-school rock ‘n roll with a youthful energy, honing grooves to get your body dancing and choruses that make your voice join in, whether you planned to or not. It’s a testament to the band’s range in genre without losing their identifiable, shared sound.