One Direction - Made In The A.M. (Album Review)

One Direction has been on a whirlwind ride. They went from X-Factor contestants to one of the biggest groups in the world. They've had four consecutive number one albums and the group seemed to be on a non-stop roll. That was until Zayn Malik announced his departure from the group. Shortly thereafter the group went to work on a new album that would become Made In The A.M. and announced that the group would be taking a hiatus after the album to pursue solo careers. There's no doubt that the marathon run for the last five or so years has caused the wheels to come off a little with a member leaving and with the group finally taking a break. All of this has led to the group's possible final album, Made In The A.M.

Despite the joke being thrown around about the title "Made In The After Malik", which I'm guessing isn't what the band meant in the slightest, there doesn't seem to be an insanely large amount lost without Malik on this new album. He did have a particular vocal style that added a lot to the group not only with his character and style, but also just in his ability to hit some pretty good notes. The songwriting hasn't suffered much. It doesn't feel like this band is limping on the album. It's not hard to believe a very similar album would have been released had Malik stayed with the group. Made In The A.M. is a solid pop/rock album. It continues to show the growth of the group. The songs sound slightly more mature lyrically and musically than some of their previous albums, with the exception of Four which showed the group starting to mature their sound quite a bit. There are quite a few ballads on this album. Those can cause the album to lag in a couple spots with repeated listens, but just as stand alone songs pretty much everything on the album is pretty listenable. "Perfect" is really catchy and musically it's somber but has a driving feeling. "Drag Me Down", for some reason, reminds me of some of the more classic boy bands like N'Sync or Backstreet Boys especially the way the vocals are done on the song, but it still has that modern pop/rock feel enough that it doesn't sound dated. It's a pretty infectious song. "If I Could Fly" is a stripped down ballad with the group showcasing their vocals over a pretty somber piano part with accompanying strings. It's one of the standout ballads on the album.

There are more than a few moments on Made In The A.M. that could allude to the upcoming hiatus. "History" is one such song where some of those moments are found. It could easily be interpreted as a relationship song or it could easily be a song about One Direction as a group. "A.M." also alludes to the end in a way that could mean the end for the group...or once again it could just be another relationship song. I'm inclined to think some of this allusion is definitely thinly veiled attempts by the band to showcase their emotions towards some of the rough times they've had internally and the upcoming hiatus of the group. I think keeping it vague probably helps make a more enjoyable song. Those moments will ultimately be left to listener interpretation.

I think this is a "we soldier on until the end" type album. It's proof that even with the loss of Malik as well as the hiatus looming over everything that the group has been doing since the announcement that they haven't let it disturb them too much and have found a way to turn in yet another solid album. It doesn't quite feel as energetic as the band did back on 2013's Midnight Memories and it may not have some of the really big standout singles that Four had, but it's really solid. I think there might be a bigger hint of maturity on this album than on any other One Direction album to date. Even if it isn't the quintessential or best album from this group (I'm still inclined to believe Midnight Memories was the high point) it bolsters more than enough 1D power to give fans a solid listening experience and at least one more album until they ride off into the sunset. I think this is a must check out even if it's out of curiosity to see what the band did without Malik. I think the remaining members do a more than admirable job as a four piece. I think each member was able to step up their vocal game in his absence. I also think it would rank pretty high in 1D's discography for me.