Maroon 5’s Next Album, Due Next Year, Will Be “a Little Darker,” Says Guitarist

December 7, 2016 Andrea Dresdale

Image Group LA/ABCMaroon 5 last released an album in 2014, but their latest hit, “Don’t Wanna Know,” isn’t the first single from a new album. It’s a one-off track the band randomly decided to release, says guitarist James Valentine.

The band had begun work on new songs for an album, says James, but it became clear the full project wouldn’t be ready for a while. “That was one of the first songs that we started working on,” James tells ABC Radio. “And we figured, ‘Oh, it’s been two years since we put a record out,’ so we decided to just put this out in the meantime.”

“This is the first time that we’ve done a one-off so it’s really interesting to see how it reacts,” he adds. “But we will have a full record next year.”

And what will that new record sound like?

“I think maybe the tone of the record will be a little darker and some of the stuff that we’ve been working on so far is a little more stripped down,” James reveals. “But we’ll see, ‘cause at the beginning of each record we have an idea of how it’s gonna sound, and then it becomes something completely different!”

Maroon 5 is back on the road in February, but while Adam Levine is busy with The Voice and his new baby, James is finding other things to do. Last night, he played with his old pal John Mayer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

He’s also planning to work with Mike Posner, who co-wrote the band’s smash “Sugar.” Mike received his first Grammy nomination Tuesday, for “I Took a Pill in Ibiza,” and James is thrilled. “He’s an amazing dude,” James says. “That’s great when the right people get the right nods. He totally deserves it.”