There’s never been an album I’ve anticipated as hotly as Maroon 5’s followup to 2002’s Songs About Jane. It bothered me a little, since such anticipation generally elevates an album to unachievable heights of expectation, which just kills it for me when it finally comes out only to disappoint. But the band made it very difficult to not build an enormous cache of expectations, given a full touring schedule (M5 is a fabulous live band) and five loooooooong years since a stint in the studio.

I’m happy to report, however, that IWBSBL does not fail to impress.

It’s a very different album from SAJ, though there are plenty of similar elements. The funk is funkier; Adam’s vocals are higher, almost a caricature of himself; the sexual innuendo is spread throughout, going well beyond simple suggestion. The music is more electronic throughout, as is evident on the first single, “Makes Me Wonder”. “Wake Up Call” is probably the best “pure Maroon 5″ song: forward keyboards, big beats, Adam waxing about the man he just shot dead after finding him with his girl. Other signs of greatness are “Kiwi” (which is a not-so-thinly-veiled reference to oral sex, but is just a great musical song) and the finale, “Figure It Out”, which is probably the most creative effort on the album (featuring cowbell drumming!). There are more songs on IWBSBL that feel more like filler than on SAJ; all in all, it’s a little hit-and-miss, but the hits are big hits, while the misses are more just mediocre, not bad.

If you liked Songs About Jane, and you’re good with more electronic funk (think Jamiroquai), AND you aren’t daunted by very sexual (but not vulgar, for the most part, which is odd) lyrics, I can wholeheartedly recommend It Won’t Be Soon Before Long.