Midnight Memories (One Direction) | 3.5/5

SINGAPORE – On their last album, One Direction kicked off proceedings with a song (Live While We’re Young) that began with a riff inspired by The Clash’s Should I Stay Or Should I Go. And the boys - or rather, the songwriters for the boys - have mined yet another rock classic to kick off Midnight Memories. This time, it’s The Who’s Baba O’Riley that inspires the start to Best Song Ever. You can save the teenage wasteland jokes though, because that bit of information is something none of the Directioners will be interested in. What is interesting though, is the musical direction that 1D have invested in. On the one hand, there are songs that feature a lot of big rock nuances of the past, mostly from ’80s-era rockers such as Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Rick Springfield, Joan Jett or Def Leppard. These appear on Don’t Forget Where You Belong, Midnight Memories and Little Black Dress. Then, 1D adopts the acoustic-driven modern indie folk-rock styles popularised by the likes of Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters And Men or The Lumineers, particularly on tracks such as Happily or Through The Dark. Sure, 1D’s take is a lot slicker, and the massive “chorus voice” and catchy lyrics mean anybody can sing along to the tunes. And no, they haven’t eschewed their familiar pop sound, and have punctuated the album with enough heartfelt ballads to keep the emotion flowing. What’s more important - musical snobbery aside - is that Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayn do sound like they’re really having fun, and that, coupled with the diversity of styles, is what makes this album rather infectious. Is this best album ever? Certainly not. And Best Song Ever isn’t even the best song on they’ve done. And a majority of the tunes are frankly, not that memorable. But here’s the thing: You are guaranteed to have a fun time every time you listen to it.