Little over a year after the release of their chart-topper debut "What Makes You Beautiful," One Direction are back at it again, allowing the
public no reprieve from their mainstream radio presence with their
latest single "Live While We're Young" from their upcoming sophomore
effort Take Me Home, due in November.
Vocally, it's a One Direction song. While they are not complete masters of their craft, the harmonies are solid and the epitome of 'boy-band' sound and there are no obvious glares of post-production auto-correcting--it's a bit sad that in this day and age that actually has to count for a positive remark, but anyway.
Even lyrically nothing is too offensively banal, just rather serviceably typical. The three songwriters behind this single have a collective experience working with Britney Spears, 'N Sync, The Saturdays, Akon, The Wanted, Nicki Minaj, and as well as past material for One Direction. So, of course, you know the song is just rife with profound existentialist musings such as "we'll be doing what we do" and "Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy."
Vocally, it's a One Direction song. While they are not complete masters of their craft, the harmonies are solid and the epitome of 'boy-band' sound and there are no obvious glares of post-production auto-correcting--it's a bit sad that in this day and age that actually has to count for a positive remark, but anyway.
Even lyrically nothing is too offensively banal, just rather serviceably typical. The three songwriters behind this single have a collective experience working with Britney Spears, 'N Sync, The Saturdays, Akon, The Wanted, Nicki Minaj, and as well as past material for One Direction. So, of course, you know the song is just rife with profound existentialist musings such as "we'll be doing what we do" and "Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy."
In terms of composition, the song starts out with a series of interrupted riffs, perhaps a nod to (or pale imitation of) The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go." The group discloses Take Me Home will be a bit heavier than their debut and I suppose this truly is as edgy as it gets. Otherwise, the song mostly resembles their previous single "One Thing," with more of a summery vibe and another riff a little close to Nicki Minaj's "Starships."
It's really no surprise how lazy and cookie-cutter-of-a-cookie-cutter all of this sounds; One Direction is a product foremost, but even then commercialism itself can be an artform in its execution. It just would have been nice to let something more substantial than this brew, instead of expediting the inevitable burnout and backlash.
~Jake