Honestly, it feels like we’ve been waiting an eternity for Adam Levine and the boys to actually act like a band again. After the 2021 release of Jordi, which felt a lot like a collection of disparate singles held together by high-profile features and heavy vocal processing, the arrival of the Maroon 5 latest album, Love Is Like, was supposed to be a homecoming. Released on August 15, 2025, through 222 and Interscope Records, this project arrived with a specific promise: a return to the organic, guitar-driven soul of the early 2000s.
But did they actually pull it off?
It's complicated. You've probably heard the lead singles "Priceless" or "All Night" blasting in every Starbucks and H&M for the last few months, but looking at the full 10-track project, there is a lot more to digest than just the radio hooks. The album is incredibly lean, clocking in at just under 28 minutes. For a four-year wait, that’s a bit of a gut punch to some fans. Yet, others argue that the lack of "filler" makes it their most cohesive work since Hands All Over.
What Maroon 5 Latest Album Actually Sounds Like
If you were expecting Songs About Jane 2.0, you might want to temper those expectations just a little bit. However, there is a definite shift in DNA here. James Valentine’s guitar isn’t just buried in the mix anymore; it’s the skeleton of the whole record.
Take the opening track "Hideaway." It starts with this shimmering, clean guitar line that feels like a direct nod to their 2002 debut. It’s nostalgic, but the production—handled by the likes of Federico Vindver and J Kash—keeps it firmly in the present. Adam Levine mentioned in a few interviews leading up to the release that they wanted to "shut everyone out" and get back to writing as a unit. You can actually hear that in the rhythm section. The bass lines on "Yes I Did" are funky and thick, reminding us that Jesse Carmichael and Mickey Madden (well, the band as a whole) actually know how to groove when they aren't being forced into a trap-pop box.
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The title track, "Love Is Like," features Lil Wayne, and it’s basically a masterclass in modern R&B-pop. Wayne’s verse is playful—definitely better than his more recent phoned-in features—and it meshes surprisingly well with Levine’s falsetto. They also brought in K-pop royalty with LISA on "Priceless." It’s an interesting move. It doesn't feel like a forced global crossover attempt; the song is actually quite suave and understated.
The Tracklist Breakdown
- Hideaway: The "classic" sounding opener.
- Love Is Like (feat. Lil Wayne): The big, soul-sampled centerpiece.
- All Night: A sax-heavy, slap-bass funk number.
- Yes I Did: Arguably the best song on the record with a rare guitar solo.
- Priceless (feat. LISA): A guitar-based, rhythmic daydream.
- I Like It (feat. Sexyy Red): The rowdy, "fun" outlier.
- Burn Burn Burn: A percussive, somewhat moody track.
- Jealousy Problems: Candid lyrics and pulsing bass.
- My Love: A tender, stripped-back ballad.
- California: A sun-drenched, lo-fi closer.
Why the Critics Are Tearing It Apart (and Fans Aren’t)
Here is where the drama starts. If you look at the reviews from Pitchfork or Clash, they haven’t been kind. Linnie Greene over at Pitchfork called it "benign background noise," which honestly feels a bit harsh. The main criticism seems to be the length. At 27 minutes and 40 seconds, it’s basically an EP masquerading as a studio album.
People are asking: "We waited four years for less than half an hour of music?"
On the flip side, the Reddit community and long-time fans seem to be having a bit of a renaissance with this one. On the r/Maroon5 subreddit, the consensus is that Love Is Like is a "step in the right direction." Why? Because it’s the first time in a decade the band hasn't tried to sound like whatever is trending on TikTok. It sounds like Maroon 5. It’s got the yacht-rock influence, the blue-eyed soul, and those "moves like Jagger" hooks that actually feel earned rather than manufactured.
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The Secret Ingredient: The iPhone Demo
One of the coolest stories about the Maroon 5 latest album is how "Priceless" started. Adam Levine actually recorded the opening guitar riff by playing an unplugged electric guitar into a voice memo on his iPhone. He was apparently so attached to the raw, tinny sound of the demo that they kept elements of it in the final studio version.
James Valentine admitted he got emotional when he first heard that demo. For the band, it represented a return to the era when they were just kids playing in a basement in Los Angeles. That "basement" energy carries over into the closing track "California." It’s unpolished. It’s a little bit messy. And honestly? It’s exactly what the band needed to do to stay relevant in a world tired of "perfect" AI-sounding pop music.
Navigating the 2025/2026 World Tour
If you’re planning on catching them live, the Love Is Like World Tour kicked off in late 2025 and is swinging through Europe and North America into 2026. They’ve been playing a lot of the new stuff, though some fans have complained that the setlists are still too heavy on the 2010s hits like "Sugar" and "Girls Like You."
Claire Rosinkranz has been opening for them, which is a great pairing—her indie-pop vibe fits the "new" Maroon 5 sound perfectly. If you're heading to a show, expect a lot of saxophones. The saxophone arrangements on "All Night" and "Burn Burn Burn" are massive in a live setting.
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What to do next
If you haven't listened to the full album yet, don't just stick to the singles. To really get what they were trying to do, you need to hear the transition from "Yes I Did" into "Priceless." It’s the strongest part of the record.
Also, check out the "Deluxe Digital" version if you can find it. It includes some live tracks from their Tokyo 2025 shows and a few extra songs like "Cigarettes" and "Ice Cream" that didn't make the standard cut. These tracks lean even harder into the R&B soul influence that defines this era of the band.
Whether you love the brevity or hate the "mall-pop" polish, there is no denying that Maroon 5 is still the biggest pop-rock machine on the planet. They aren't going anywhere, and Love Is Like ensures they'll be on our playlists for at least another few years.