USA TODAY International Edition
‘ A. M.’ would make fine ending, if that’s what it is
ONE DIRECTION
Made in the A. M. POP
DOWNLOAD Perfect, Never Enough, History
It’s tough to promote a new album when everyone has already marked your gravestone.
At least that has been One Direction’s challenge with their fifth ( and possibly final) album,
Made in the A. M., out Friday, released in the wake of bandmate Zayn Malik’s exit and the group’s announcement that they’re taking a break. Brushing off rumors that they’re calling it quits for good, the remaining members have tried to keep the narrative about the music: playing up their growth since 2011 debut Up All Night and touting A. M. as “the best album we feel we’ve done,” as Harry Styles flatly describes it to USA TODAY.
Such empty declarations could be passed off as media- coaching blather, but to the guys’ credit, it’s actually not far off. On A. M., One Direction’s writing is sharper and their sound richer than before, and although they still have all the edge of a butter knife, there’s a defiance and maturity that may have surfaced after weathering this year’s drama.
That reinvigorated spirit is clear on first single Drag Me
Down, the album’s second track and an electrifying ode to standing one’s ground, which pulses with brash guitar riffs and a slick reggae groove. It sets the pace for other previously released highlights including Perfect, a purported Taylor Swift kiss- off and exemplary pop anthem, and Long Way
Down, whose alternating harmonies make the mawkish chorus almost forgivable.
A. M. hits its stride with the irresistible Never Enough, which sounds like a funk, doo- wop and ’ 80s hair metal song all rolled into one. Styles co- write Olivia bounces along as the British poprockers do their best Beatles impressions, while album closer
History will unexpectedly tug at your heartstrings with its stripped- down, campfire vibes and insistence that “this is not the end.” Even if your Tumblr page isn’t populated by “Larry Stylinson” fan fiction, it’s hard not to be moved by this bittersweet remembrance of the boy band’s sometimes bumpy stretch in the limelight.
The rest of the album isn’t quite as fun to unpack. Obligatory ballads Infinity and If I Could Fly sound like rehashes of what the boys have already done better on fan favorites such as Night
Changes and Story of My Life. Meanwhile, suggestive lyrics in
Love Me Goodbye and bonus tracks Temporary Fix and A. M. can’t save the familiar- sounding melodies. Nevertheless, if Made in the
A. M. ends up being One Direction’s final album, it’s not a bad swan song to go out on. It’s a step up from last year’s folk- pop Four and uneven 2013 effort Midnight
Memories, although not quite as unabashedly enjoyable as the earlier albums. Who’s to say what their musical legacy will ultimately be — aside from at least one perfect pop song in their breakout
What Makes You Beautiful — but we’re willing to follow them in whatever direction they go next.