One Direction’s ‘Made In The A.M.’ Album: Review Revue

Today (November 13) marks a big one for both One Direction and their loyal fans, as their fifth album Made In The A.M. has released. It marks their first LP since Zayn Malik‘s departure and the last before their indefinite hiatus.

The record gladly finds Harry, Liam, Niall and Louis straying away from the “boy” portion of “boy band,” as they look towards acts like The Beatles and Coldplay for a more mature and reflective musical inspiration.

So how do other music industry critics feel about One Direction’s latest musical effort? Read what they had to say down below!

:: Rolling Stone gave it four stars: “Made in the A.M. is 1D’s Let It Be – the kind of record the world’s biggest pop group makes when it’s time to say thanks for the memories. The cover has Beatles-worthy coded body language: four boys on a cheap dorm couch, Liam Payne and Niall Horan smiling in opposite directions, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles staring defiantly into your eyes.”

:: New York Times drew comparisons with 1D and Justin Bieber: “He’s clearly biding time, and energy, for the next phase. Both his album and One Direction’s close with songs about a farewell. For One Direction, it’s ‘History,’ which insists, ‘We can live forever,; in shout-sung unison. It’s optimistic and forward looking, a schematic for helping weeping young fans find release in the group’s coming (possibly permanent) break.”

:: While Hollywood Life calls it “their most diverse album ever,” highlighting the album opener: “This song has a catchy, upbeat sound that is sure to put anyone in a good mood. I would say this is totally a song someone would enjoy listening to cruising in their car with the top down. The song totally has an Oasis vibe to it, which I personally love. One of my favorites on the album, for sure!”

:: The Daily Mail also scored it with four stars: “The band’s fifth album — and their first since founder member Zayn Malik walked out in the spring — builds on the more mature rock influences that were introduced on 2013’s Midnight Memories and last year’s Four to move the remaining foursome even further away from the blazers and choreographed routines that were the hallmarks of boy bands not so long ago. There are yearning ballads, radio-friendly choruses and a fondness for a hybrid of pop and rock that lies somewhere between Take That and Coldplay.”

:: USA Today shared this: “Nevertheless, if Made in the A.M. ends up being One Direction’s final album, it’s not a bad swansong to go out on. It’s a step up from last year’s folk-pop Four and uneven 2013 effort Midnight Memories, although not quite as unabashedly enjoyable as their earlier albums.”

:: Lastly, NME was a bit harsher: “‘Made In The AM’ doesn’t really change anything for One Direction; it’s simply another slick set of pop songs designed to strike a chord with their teenage fanbase and win over a few older fans along the way. If this is the last we hear from them, it’s probably a fitting swansong. Now they can get on with the fallouts, drug binges, bankruptcy and podginess…”

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