Made in the A.M.: One Direction
SONY MUSIC, Rs 499
This album has been in the news since a long time, more for the fact that this is the first that 1D has released as a group without Zayn Malik who left last March. Their fifth offering, before each member embarks on solo projects, brings out the best in arrangement, composition and vocals. The new album is replete with ballads, soaring pop styles, a cappella vocal set, and a dig at former flames, too. The album opener Hey Angel has a catchy sound, but nothing compared to the infectious Drag Me Down, 1D’s first single off the album. It’s a sing-out-loud track that will get all your friends crooning to its chorus.
Next on this 13-track album is Perfect; great lyrics, great melody, and if you’ve seen the video, isn’t it incredible? Infinity is a slow track, revved up a bit at times, with a cool chorus. End Of The Day begins as though there is a tsunami coming, but suddenly falls flat with a really ordinary tune and average chorus.
In slow jam mode, If I Could Fly has some great lyrics. Here’s Harry pouring his heart out: “For your eyes only, I show you my heart, For when you’re lonely and forget who you are, I’m missing half of me when we’re apart, Now you know me, for your eyes only, For your eyes only…”. Long Way Down speaks of the band’s upcoming hiatus; even though it has a pretty nice beat to it, its mid-tempo pace gets a thumbs down. Never Enough, a dance piece, gets your heart pumping and is very different in style from what the band has done before.
After the split, many labelled 1D as the new Beatles, and so here they are giving you a taste what the Liverpool boys had done in their heydays with Olivia. Nearing the end of the playlist is the average What A Feeling, the lovey dovey Love You, Goodbye, a heartbreaking song with beautiful lyrics that will make you think of your love. I Want To Write You A Song with its sad lyrics, very acoustically done, is one of the toppers here. Lastly History, says it all with its lovely lyrics: “…You and me got a whole lot of history (oh), We could be the greatest team that the world has ever seen, You and me got a whole lot of history (oh), So don’t let it go, we can make some more, we can live forever…” While most of the lyrics centre around girls, the lyrics to this track speak too much about the band. Could it be interpreted as a goodbye to fans? Probably, probably not. We only hope it’s the girls they’re talking about. We hope they will be back soon.
Verus Ferreira is a freelance music journalist for over three decades, contributing articles to various newspapers and magazines. He is the author of The Great Music Quiz Book and The Great Rock Music Quiz Book. Besides being a music aficionado, he is also a photo-journalist. He contributes to Musicunplugged.in. Reach him at E: verusf@gmail.com or verusferreira.com