By GIHAN RACHID
When the word “boy band” comes to mind, a few names do ring a bell. But one that usually sparks up is One Direction, and with their new album “Midnight Memories,” that name by no means will fade away anytime soon.
On Nov. 25, members of the famous boy group Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne’s new mature take on music graced the pop charts. The album’s new retro pop, rockish style is definitely turning the ears of skeptics.
The only words to describe the album from their previous work as young boys is a graduation to adult-like scenarios. “Don’t Forget Where You Belong” clearly proves that point of a pop star’s self identity with lyrics such as, “Living out of cases/ Packing up and taking off/ Made a lot of changes/ But not forgetting who I was.” With songs co-written by each of the singers, the album gives a more intimate look on their experiences, carrying the title of “biggest boy band.”
Some songs such as “Strong,” co-written by Tomlinson, are getting more praise than others by the unique style of expressing gratitude towards one’s love and strength with the lyrics: “I’m sorry if I say, ‘I need you.’/ But I don’t care, I’m not scared of love/ ‘Cause when I’m not with you I’m weaker/ Is that so wrong?/ Is it so wrong, that you make me strong?”
Even though the album does contain common love ballads, the band does stick to their upbeat pop roots with a twist with their “Little Black Dress” and “Little White Lies.” The typical cheerful songs such as “Alive” and “Midnight Memories” would satisfy festivities on a night out with a powerful chorus and plenty guitar riffs.
Although the album did leak a week before the scheduled release date, iTunes has declared it the fastest selling album of 2013 with 237,000 copies already sold. The frenzy for this little piece of joy has also made the boys number one in all regions that iTunes supports on it’s debut week.
