Album Review: One Direction- Take Me Home

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.

That is SNOW Annoying

(My cat's paw prints in the snow! <3)

That is SNOW Annoying

(For those wondering, the pun was intended!)

Every winter the UK sees some snowfall, whether it be heavy or light, so its no wonder we saw a weeks worth of the white stuff, just last week. What I don't understand is the constant media uproar that encircles the (un)expected weather, to the point where the BBC News did a 30 minute 'special' focused on snow. While I understand it may have been a slow news day, what is the need for this frenzy amongst not just the media, but people in general, or is it the media causing people to go crazy?

Many people are affected by the adverse weather conditions, as most public transport, motorways, and frankly the entire country shut down with a slight falling of snow, however why do we, as a nation feel the need to grumble about every little thing? The weather is under constant scrutiny, being either too cold or... too cold, (we only have one season all year round, let's be serious) but why don't we take this in a positive way? For those parents who got the day off work, I hope you managed to spend the day out as a family making a snowman or having a snowball fight. The fun in the snow is limitless and it's FREE! (Which is a plus in this economic climate) So quit the groaning, and have some fun next time the country is covered in a white blanket. I will definitely be outside, wellies on, sledge out!

Review: Life of Pi

Review: Life of Pi

Going in to a film completely blind (metaphorically of course!) is the best way to gain a thrilling cinema experience, but with the trend of book-to-film adaptations ever increasing, it's hard to have the delight of finding a good film by surprise. As an avid reader I find it difficult watching the film after reading the book, as they often face difficulty living up to the expectations set beforehand.

 

'Life of Pi'; The highly acclaimed book by Yann Martel, is a captivating story of survival when a young boy, Pi (Suraj Sharma) is thrown in at the deep end after surviving a thunderstorm on a ship to Canada. Thrown aboard a lifeboat in the darkness of the night, he finds himself accompanied by a bunch of animals from his fathers zoo, which were accompanying them on the trip. He ends up spending his time cast away with one other survivor; a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. They build a comradeship between them while depending on each other for survival from the surroundings which could easily diminish them.

It had been dubbed an 'impossible' task to convey this story on screen, as director, Ang Lee, took it under his wings and worked his magic. The man who brought us well-known titles like 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005) and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000), is already on the nominations list for a BAFTA, for his work on Life of Pi, and rightly so.

Lee married breath taking visuals (especially in 3D) with a beautiful narrative, as you find yourself ooh-ing and aah-ing from the opening credits. The story is heavily backdropped by a narration from an elder Pi (Irrfan Khan, you may recognise him from Slumdog Millionaire.) which helps to fill in the gaps for viewers who haven't read the book and possibly even helps the film make sense. Sharma's acting is brilliant and he has the ability to infuse emotion in to his performance, helping the audience connect with his character. I often find it difficult to take the Indian accent seriously, being from an Indian background myself I have grown up using it for humour, yet Sharma's emotion felt so real it just hits you. 

 

I really liked how one particular tear-jerking scene was followed by humour, which seemed as though the narrative wasn't dwelling on the negatives, a bit like the character who stays positive, constantly living in hope of reaching land soon.

The visual pyrotechnics of the tiger were to such a standard, that I was constantly trying to figure out whether it was real all the way through the film. It may seem idiotic to even think they'd use a real tiger for it would be costly and dangerous, but it was very realistic, and unbelievably so.

I think most people who don't like the film will probably complain about the ending, which can be hard to understand. The ending involves the audiences own interpretations of the story, and I love how we can choose to create a subjective link to what we see. I have read many explanations of the ending on the internet and because there is no right or wrong answer, it's amazing to see how different minds have tried to make sense of the story.

Overall the story was charming and really made me question the meaning of life. We take for granted all the luxuries we have in our life, but at the same time, do we really need them? The simplistic life Pi lead on his voyage living only to survive, shows that the luxuries we crave to make our lives easier, could really be what makes life harder for us. That said, companionship too is part of survival. This is why he depended on Richard Parker's company so much, because in life everyone needs a friend.

I would recommend this film to anyone, even if you think you won't like it you might be pleasantly surprised. I, myself have already ordered the book and will be making another trip to the cinema to watch it with my mum.

Star Rating: *****