One thing I've learned from maintaining this blog for a little over a year is that finding your voice isn't an "A-to-B-to-C" sort of process. Things tend to ebb and flow, and sometimes you can go forward by going a bit back. Through all of this, I've found that my style and voice continually shifts to different areas. That sort of evolution is natural as an artist grows, or at least it should be. This seems to have been the case with One Direction's third poppidy-pop-pop outing, Midnight Memories. With this one, they seem to have done a bit of looking back, particularly into a number of hair metal/arena rock bands from the 80's. Though, don't think that this is an especially heavy album. If anything, it's Bon Jovi-light.
Part of me is tempted to say this is an improvement. The introduction of "live" instruments can elevate the sense of perceived legitimacy to what a "band" does. You'll notice those scare quotes. You see, that's because those "live" instruments on the album are, for the most part, digital. Also, One Direction still isn't a band, but a group that sings. So, that perceived legitimacy isn't as great as I thought it was.
I'm of the opinion that this marked a change in voice and sound for One Direction, something more "mature", though it just sounds remarkably similar to what came before but with the sounds live instrumentation. The title track, "Midnight Memories", stands out as a most egregious example, sounding akin to a One Direction song that was written by Nickleback. It all comes off as disingenuous.
"Don't Forget Where You Belong" is an actual high point, a song that nods to the melancholy that can come from being far away from home. The lyrics are thoughtful and the harmonies and melodies work and resolve well, leaning more towards the Bon Jovie side. That, again, brings me to the one constant: One Direction are lads with fantastic voices. If only they would write more thoughtful, meaningful music. Then, they would actually be contributing something great.
As it stands, what they've (and by that I mean One Direction AND the small army of writers and producers) gifted us with are strong melodies that are both catchy and well-resolved. The problem with that is that MANY others also do that. It's not enough to be catchy. Art should say something, or should be about pushing one's limits. Perhaps, that's my own musical experience talking (I've played different percussion instruments and sang for about twelve years), and through all of that, it's been instilled in me to push myself to new and better places. I will tend to expect the same from multi-million-dollar-valued artists, and to be fair, One Direction did shift sounds...but only just. No matter the gilding upon Midnight Memories, it's more of the same. It's a net gain of zero.
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