One Direction’s new album gives fans a sense of closure
The album cover for One Direction’s new album, Made In The A.M. Image courtesy Syco Music
By Charlotte Bellamy
As the four members of One Direction are getting older, their tired bubblegum pop sound is evolving into a smooth simple pop-rock hybrid. One Direction released their new album, Made In The A.M., which acts as a last “hurrah” before an upcoming hiatus in 2016. After the release on November 13, the album reached 93,000 sales in a week.
With the influence of pop, rock, and folk music, the songs on the album create a blurry mesh between musical styles. From, the acapella influences in “Never Enough”, to the soft guitar in “If I Could Fly,” the band challenges narrow-minded styles. Vocal and sound improvements from previous albums like, Midnight Memories and Four, are appeared on this album.
Featuring thirteen songs on the regular album and four extras for the deluxe version, the songs vary in sound and style. Being the first song on the album, “Hey Angel,” acts as an upbeat love song that attempts to catch the young audience’s attention with heartfelt lyrics. Tempo and ambiance change with the next song, “Drag Me Down,” a rock influenced single that was number one in 19 countries. Acting as this album’s “What Makes You Beautiful,” the hit song shows the transition between transparent to meaningful pop. The orchestral drama of “Love You Goodbye,” stays within the band’s limited writing inspiration. Girls. Although each song poses a new point in the long treacherous battle of finding love, the boyband’s message will never change, no matter how old they become. “Olivia” and “I Want To Write You a Song” are simple in a sense, including an endearing vividness and quirkiness. Finishing off the album, “History” and “Walking in the Wind” are light hearted, “you only live once” kind of songs that close out the album with a sense of finality and closure. The lyric, “But it’s not the end, I’ll see your face again,” gives the fans a sense of termination along with the feeling of a return after the hiatus.
If Made In The A.M. is the last album the band releases, it is not a bad swansong to go out on top with. The band clearly demonstrates no suffering from the loss of their fifth member, Zayn Malik, because it seems to have started redefining itself by evolving old influences and adding more to their impressive repertoire. Made In The A.M. shows the band’s improvement as a group, and the four member’s versatility. One Direction definitely ended on the highest note of it’s career, if it is the end.