Midnight Memories

About

Calling the lead single from your album “Best Song Ever” could be misconstrued as an act of almighty hubri, especially from a boy band constructed by Simon Cowell on a reality TV singing competition. The song is actually a play on words—not that it really matters: By the time One Direction released their third record, <i>Midnight Memories</i>, the group had shaken off their manufactured mantle to become the biggest British group since The Beatle. While the rest of pop was still hypnotized by the euphoric highs of EDM, One Direction swerved left. Their first two albums served up safe and peppy (read: kid-friendly) pop rock along with schmalzy balladry that ensured the faces of band members—Harry Style, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson—were plastered over teenage bedroom walls the world over. However, by their third album in as many year, One Direction had become so ginormous that their cheeky, youthful sound needed to grow with them. Gone were the foppish haircuts and clean-cut image: This mature version of One Direction were rugged and had designer stubble, their boyish charm replaced with the brawn of young adulthood. And so, the songs on <i>Midnight Memories</i> feel more muscular and beefy. The Def Leppard-esque title track is a perfect example, with its thrashing ’80s hair metal guitars and chant-a-long choru, but there’s also more sophistication to the songwriting, too. “Diana,” which was co-written by Payne and Tomlinson, contains one of the band’s catchiest choruses and remains among their best song, while “Little Black Dress” is genuinely sexy, the group singing “I wanna see the way you move for me, baby” over scuzzy and strutting guitar. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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