It wasn't noted much at the time, but founding keyboardist Jesse Carmichael sat out
Maroon 5's 2012 album Overexposed -- a circumstance that just happened to coincide with
Adam Levine capitalizing on his Voice-fueled stardom. Overexposed and over-filled with guest producers and songwriters drafted to compensate for the absent Carmichael, rapper
Wiz Khalifa, reliable Swedish hitmakers Max Martin & Shellback, and icy
OneRepublic frontman
Ryan Tedder gave the group a steely sleekness to suit contemporary charts. Some of this is retained on V, the 2014 record that marks Carmichael's return to the group, partially because all those guests save
Khalifa return for a second helping. The absence of the rapper suggests
Maroon 5 aren't quite as concerned with sounding youthful as they were last time around, which is generally true. Some tracks maintain the glossy veneer that overwhelmed Overexposed -- not entirely a surprise with Martin billed as the record's executive producer -- and, despite some unnecessary vocal processing on
Levine scattered throughout the record, these are largely the ones featuring returning guests:
Tedder co-writes and co-produces the album's lead single, "Maps," a song where
Levine's
Sting mannerisms steamroll the hooks," while Shellback helms "Animals," "In Your Pocket," and "Feelings," with all but the last placing emphasis on brittle beats. Elsewhere, the vibe shifts slightly back to the soulful pop that's remained at
Maroon 5's core since the beginning, here given an ever so slight maturation to balance the modern moves heard on the rest of the record. Sometimes, the group achieves a delicate balance between the two extremes -- "It Was Always You," "New Love," and the aforementioned "Feelings" -- but the best moments on V are when
Maroon 5 embrace the tuneful, slightly soulful adult contemporary pop band they've always been, as they do on "Sugar," "Coming Back for You," and the
Gwen Stefani duet "My Heart Is Open." [The Deluxe Edition contains three bonus tracks, two off which are the project's most distinctive moments: a slow-jam remake of
Marcy Playground's "Sex and Candy" and
Levine's solo "Lost Stars," co-written by Gregg Alexander.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine