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
's return to the group, partially because all those guests save
Khalifa
return for a second helping. The absence of the rapper suggests
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
-- 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
's
Sting
mannerisms steamroll the hooks," while
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
'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
are when
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." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine