One
Direction were still five members when they released their current
album Four; now they're four members doing the wild job of touring to
promote this album.
The first song on the record is also the first single of the new album: “Steal My Girl” comes along with a catchy tune and typical boyband lyrics about this special girl they want to keep because “she belongs to [them].” Can somebody please tell them that girls don't belong to anybody but themselves?
Steal My Girl seems to be the exception though because song number two, “Ready To Run”, immediately convinces with grown-up lyrics and it shines through that One Direction have distanced themselves from their past sound. Ready To Run already foreshadows what to expect.
“Where Do Broken Hearts Go” is a legit question, but unfortunately they don't know the answer either. What's interesting is that by now, they don't explicitly sing about girls anymore, but they use the neutral pronoun “you”.
One Direction have made “a long way from the playground” in a very short period of time, they've matured a lot since Midnight Memories, and “18” is only another way to prove that. This track is different from past songs because it's not the boy chases girl because she's so pretty anymore; this track talks about deep emotions that have grown for a while now, it talks about making mistakes and learning from them, it talks about how to love means to try.
Song number five has to be my favourite one ever: “Girl Almighty” quickly became the anthem for girls all over the world; there's just something about this song that boosts my confidence. Maybe it's Liam singing “I get down on my knees for you” because that's exactly how girls should be celebrated.
The atmosphere is becoming thoughtful again when “Fool's Gold” kicks in and we're back at deep lyrics. This song is for those who were betrayed, who have this one person in their life who keeps playing with them but they aren't able to leave. It's for those who know that their relationship won't go anywhere, but they still hold on tight.
This album is a rollercoaster: from sad and deep songs you're pushed to up tempo tracks like “No Control”: certainly there's nothing sad about someone telling you that they're “waking up beside you, I'm a loaded gun” and that they're all yours and got no control. This song is probably the farthest away from the clichĂ© boyband material people still associate One Direction with, what makes it even more important than it already is.
With “Fireproof” the relaxed tunes are back with harmonies that are on point, and “Spaces” follows this with lots of phrases that could keep you up all night evaluating your own life. In light of recent events, the question of “Who's gonna be the first to say good bye” can be answered with Zayn, and the rest is dealt with in secret. Obviously, the spaces between Zayn and his life as a famous band member kept getting deeper until he couldn't do it anymore. The question for their management would be “Will we ever learn? When will we learn?” because it's only logic that something like this was going to happen when the band never gets a proper break.
The last song on the album is also the one that's the most fun: “Act My Age” has this Irish vibe as it tells the story of somebody who still enjoys their life even when they're “fat and old.” It also perfectly shows that One Direction take their job seriously, but they can take a step back as well and laugh about themselves.
All in all, Four is the best album One Direction have relased so far. It's the perfect prove to show how much these boys have grown and matured during their five years as a band. They've reached the point where they can make the music they like which is an important step in their career, whether they're four or five members.
The first song on the record is also the first single of the new album: “Steal My Girl” comes along with a catchy tune and typical boyband lyrics about this special girl they want to keep because “she belongs to [them].” Can somebody please tell them that girls don't belong to anybody but themselves?
Steal My Girl seems to be the exception though because song number two, “Ready To Run”, immediately convinces with grown-up lyrics and it shines through that One Direction have distanced themselves from their past sound. Ready To Run already foreshadows what to expect.
“Where Do Broken Hearts Go” is a legit question, but unfortunately they don't know the answer either. What's interesting is that by now, they don't explicitly sing about girls anymore, but they use the neutral pronoun “you”.
One Direction have made “a long way from the playground” in a very short period of time, they've matured a lot since Midnight Memories, and “18” is only another way to prove that. This track is different from past songs because it's not the boy chases girl because she's so pretty anymore; this track talks about deep emotions that have grown for a while now, it talks about making mistakes and learning from them, it talks about how to love means to try.
Song number five has to be my favourite one ever: “Girl Almighty” quickly became the anthem for girls all over the world; there's just something about this song that boosts my confidence. Maybe it's Liam singing “I get down on my knees for you” because that's exactly how girls should be celebrated.
The atmosphere is becoming thoughtful again when “Fool's Gold” kicks in and we're back at deep lyrics. This song is for those who were betrayed, who have this one person in their life who keeps playing with them but they aren't able to leave. It's for those who know that their relationship won't go anywhere, but they still hold on tight.
This album is a rollercoaster: from sad and deep songs you're pushed to up tempo tracks like “No Control”: certainly there's nothing sad about someone telling you that they're “waking up beside you, I'm a loaded gun” and that they're all yours and got no control. This song is probably the farthest away from the clichĂ© boyband material people still associate One Direction with, what makes it even more important than it already is.
With “Fireproof” the relaxed tunes are back with harmonies that are on point, and “Spaces” follows this with lots of phrases that could keep you up all night evaluating your own life. In light of recent events, the question of “Who's gonna be the first to say good bye” can be answered with Zayn, and the rest is dealt with in secret. Obviously, the spaces between Zayn and his life as a famous band member kept getting deeper until he couldn't do it anymore. The question for their management would be “Will we ever learn? When will we learn?” because it's only logic that something like this was going to happen when the band never gets a proper break.
The last song on the album is also the one that's the most fun: “Act My Age” has this Irish vibe as it tells the story of somebody who still enjoys their life even when they're “fat and old.” It also perfectly shows that One Direction take their job seriously, but they can take a step back as well and laugh about themselves.
All in all, Four is the best album One Direction have relased so far. It's the perfect prove to show how much these boys have grown and matured during their five years as a band. They've reached the point where they can make the music they like which is an important step in their career, whether they're four or five members.
