A Brutally Honest Review of One Direction’s New Album
Last week, iTunes made girls all over swoon, scream and cry when they had a free streaming of One Direction’s new album, “Take Me Home”. Now, the actual product is here.
Though many fans have already downloaded the new album due it being leaked (Liam said he was okay with it!), some have waited for this very day. I have been listening to the new tunes non-stop since the songs were spread through the interweb. However, the more I listen to “Take Me Home”, the more I like “Up All Night” better. And I’m not the only one. A lot of my friends have said the same thing - they don’t like it. Here comes the honesty. Hate me if you wish.
The first single released from the album was “Live While We’re Young” which was perfect because it still had the fun, pop and radio-friendly sound One Direction is known for. Plus, the song has a dirty meaning (you want to tell me it’s not about having a one-night stand?) which to some fans, proved that their new songs are ‘more mature’ than their last. However, this clearly rang true with their latest single, “Little Things”, written by the brilliant Ed Sheeran. It’s an Ed song, alright, and the music video was even different than what the boys have done before. Instead of singing to a person, they’re signing to you ( I think the song is just the five of them singing to each other, but that’s just my sick and twisted mind).
The two Ed Sheeran songs (the other one is “Over Again”) seem to be the only songs on the album that show a different One Direction. “Little Things” is gender-neutral, acoustic and soft spoken. “Over Again” has a little more of a pop sound to it, but still, you can tell it’s an Ed song. Why isn’t he the sixth member, again?
The rest of the album, however, sounds like a very typical manufactured pop record. One Direction said that this one would be different, but it doesn’t seem that way. I’m not saying it’s a bad album. In fact, I love the songs “Rock Me” (also about sex), “They Don’t Know About Us” (totally about Caroline Flack, but if you take out the ‘girl’, it could be about Larry Stylinson), and “I Would” (only because they never talk about a girl, only someone’s ‘boyfriend’.)
What gets me is that One Direction isn’t you typical boyband. They’re sexual, humorous, and don’t even look like your average pop stars. It is true, that over time, boy bands have changed. The Jonas Brothers were all about being clean-cut and true gentlemen. Hanson was about being being yourself and being okay with it. The Backstreet Boys, N*SYNC and even 98 Degrees were about swooning girls with ballads while looking sexy as ever. One Direction? They make girls want to rip off their clothes and have their babies. They don’t sing ballads, they don’t dance and they don’t care what comes out of their mouths.
I thought “Take Me Home” would how much One Direction has grown since they’re last album. I expected more original lyrics, a bit of a rock sound and just an overall change of pace. I understand that they’re genre is pop and they need to cater to their extremely broad age-range of fans but I wanted more of their personalities to show. It’s one of the main reasons why I love One Direction so much.
I think for almost every artist, their first album is their greatest. I only hope in the near future that One Direction’s sound can grow with their fans. Hanson and the Jonas Brothers have mastered this. “Take Me Home” doesn’t sound like “Up All Night”. But, to be brutally honest, “Up All Night” does One Direction more justice.
Vlog #4 - The One Direction Rant and Rave. I love these boys too much.
» Remembering Boy Bands
Here’s a piece I did at StyleCaster back in March when One Direction was just rising to fame.
Check out a look back on the some of music’s best boy bands. Jonas Brothers, Backstreet Boys and Hanson was included.
Vlog #2 - One Direction concert!!!!
One Direction Concert!!!!
Hello everyone!
Because I had such an amazing time at the One Direction concert, I had to make a vlog about it! It’s coming soon, but to give you a teaser about my adventure, here are some pictures!
If there are any words to describe this concert, they are Larry Stylinson.
Highlights of the concert: Niall kissed Louis’ cheek and Harry tried to pulled Niall’s pants down.
Meeting Liam Payne!
As some of you may have seen from my tweets last night, I did meet Liam Payne of One Direction!
From the time they’ve arrived in NYC, it’s been incredibly hard to spot them. People have been meeting them on the street in random places and the boys’ tweets haven’t been giving any hints at all.
Last night, I received a tip from another fan, who happened to know where at least one of the boys were: Madison Square Garden. What a coincidence, because I have a friend who was working the Knicks game last night!
We were waiting where the celebrities who sit courtside come out. First, we saw Bobby Flay, who basically ignored us. Then, we saw Ciara, who was walking right in front of a certain someone. My friend spotted Ciara but I turned to her and said, “That’s Liam and his girlfriend!!!”
Yes, Danielle was with him and she looked gorgeous! I asked Liam for a picture and it looked like he was going to hesitate but considering I was the only person who noticed him, he said, “Sure, go for it!”
He was lovely, warm, friendly and smelled pretty good ;)
Thank you to the fan who gave me the tip, my friend at MSG and Liam Payne. It was such a great ending to an amazing day!
