If you haven't heard of
One Direction by now I think it's fair to assume that you've either
been travelling to another planet, or indeed do live under a rock but
even then it's inexcusable. The five-part boy band are proving the
success behind Simon Cowell's X Factor TV show, as they continue
their world domination, releasing yet another album. 'Take Me Home'
is their much anticipated second album, with a lot to live up to
considering their aforementioned worldwide success.
The album opens up with
'Live While We're Young' and 'Kiss You' which are up-beat pop songs,
typical of the band's previous sound. The songs feature songwriters
and producers from their former single 'What Makes You Beautiful',
and while they don't sound similar, you get the same vibe from both
songs. Kiss You' continues to uphold the cheese-factor, with a catchy
chorus that gets everyone tapping their feet and singing along. The
prevalence of Harry Styles' vocals are ever-apparent, causing you to
wonder whether the other voices are even needed. It's hard to
decipher the voices of the other boys as they blend in to one, while
Styles' voice carries a unique sound which is easily recognised
against the others.
Not being a fan of
their slower songs, 'Little Things' is a little bit of a surprise at
first listen. Penned by talented singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran, the
song is different to any previous material, and the lyrics are
intelligently constructed in comparison to other songs such as 'More
Than This'. The instrumental is simplistic consisting of nothing but
a guitar, which is usual in terms of Sheeran's music, and gives a
chance for their vocals to shine through. As usual, Harry Styles
takes the biscuit for best vocal, fronting the chorus he adds a rasp
to his voice that could potentially leave you with hairs standing on
end- he's that good.
Award winning British
producer Jake Gosling, who has worked with the likes of Paloma Faith
and Ed Sheeran amongst many others, worked on 'Little Things' and
'Over Again' (both penned by Sheeran) on the album. I like the fact
that British talent is encouraged by the label, despite the success
of the band and the Americanisation that usually comes with it.
The album includes more
well-known British names, with Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones and Dougie
Poynter of Mcfly-fame, writing 'I Would'. It was controversially
revealed that the Mcfly boys had admitted to selling off their less
favourable songs, while keeping the better ones for themselves,
however this song implies those rumours may not be true. The lyrics
are humble, and tell a story about being unpopular in love, and how
the girl they are singing to is choosing the wrong guy. It's still a
typical 1D (as they are socially known) song, but with less Harry
Styles and more Zayn Malik. Malik even manages to hit a high note as
he shows off his versatility as a vocalist. In my opinion he's the
underdog of the band, with a rare RnB-like tone to his voice, which
can often be overlooked.
The album is full of
songs, typical to what teenage girls would want to hear. Although I
wouldn't call the music tasteless, it seems to contain a few hidden
gems amidst a sea of badly written lyrics on the backdrop of well
composed music. 'They Don't Know About Us' is a beautiful song,
clearly constructed to cause girls everywhere to swoon for their
favourite band member, yet it leaves me feeling as though I've heard
the song before. Maybe it's because of the typical lyrics, carrying
the essence of love to millions of girls, or the fact that the tune
has been so overdone that all slow songs are starting to sound the
same.
'Back For You' comes
across as an autobiographical song, about leaving a girlfriend behind
and constantly reassuring her about coming back, so it's no wonder
that band-members Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson helped
to co-write the song. Tomlinson and Payne have publicly been in
long-term relationships, which suggests this song is a dedication of
some sort to their other halves. Band-members also helped co-write
'Summer Love' and 'Last First Kiss', and while the songs claim a good
steady beat, the lyrics are somewhat childish considering they are
all in their late-teens now. I would suggest that they leave the
song-writing to the professionals and focus on their hair or clothes
for now.
My favourite song on
the album has to be 'Heart Attack' with it's silly, quirky lyrics and
a slight cheekiness to it, it's sure to put a smile on anyone's face
after a bad day. The song is about heartbreak obviously, but presents
it in a light-hearted way, which is apt because I doubt any 1D fans
will have suffered any real heartbreak at their tender ages. The boys
feign their hurt, screaming 'ow' continuously throughout the chorus
to show their pain. A bit cheesy I know, but I love it.
Of course, no album is
complete without some sort of a rock song, and 'Rock Me' is a slight
chance at trying just that. The mid-tempo rock song has a slight
'clapping riff' similar to that of Queen's 'We Will Rock You', but
all similarities stop there. The lyrics themselves are idiotic and
seem like not much time has been spent on perfecting them. Sexual
references are prevalent throughout the album with 'Live While We're
Young' featuring the words 'Tonight let's get some' (and it doesn't
take a genius to work out what they are getting), with this song
being no different. The words 'I want you to rock me' give an obvious
underlying message of the sexual nature, and I'm not sure it's an
education in the most positive sense. On the whole, it's a courageous
attempt at soft rock, but it's not going to be a classic in years to
come.
Fans who enjoyed their
previous music won't be disappointed as they continue to make music
akin to the previous album, steering clear of the [Justin]
Bieber-esque motive of 'growing up' with each album released. Whether
you're a fan of pop or not, there's sure to be something on the album
that you'll enjoy, and the bubble gum pop influences will please the
child within you. As music is constantly criticised to be on the
downfall, you can't fault One Direction for trying to bring back
old-school 90s style cheese.
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