If you're a One Direction fan you're more than likely to have woken up this morning in a state of unequalled frenzy, given hardly fair warning to the announcement of One Direction's latest single, Drag Me Down. This is the band's first music release where Zayn's vocals and especial ad-libs have not been present. Whilst admittedly moving into more of a rock scene has left my interests in the pop world astray, I didn't hesitate to give this song a try. Immediately it seems this is a song similar to any other One Direction track: there's fluidity in the vocal range and the chorus is upbeat and catchy, enough to drive the song forward and instil a euphoric state of mind within the listener; So not much different here. Yet what probably makes the song disparate in the way of style is how the more you come to listen to the track, the more it catches on and you begin to feel yourself slipping into the rhythmic beat.
Drag Me Down has undertones of a techno track, showing the band's maturity and movement into a music genre which is becoming increasingly popular. The addition of synth sounds seems multiplied to establish this development and ultimately surprise former listeners. The fact the opening is slow and controlled before the bass cuts in shows the band are essentially trying to make this track an upbeat, summer anthem of a tune.
In a nutshell, this is a love song. Lyrically it is soft and full of the 'crush' fantasies of a love-induced teenager which is a very characteristic boy band inspiration, something of which we are sure to expect from One Direction songs. But the melody does help to level this song as something more than a track befitting of the 'romance genre'. Yes, we find the metaphors conventional of such tunes, "baby you're my boat" which admittedly sound played out and in all best efforts, orthodox and dare I say it, cheesy. However, the songs do offer some retribution from this with some more unusual and heart-felt metaphors, "I've got fire for a heart", "I got a river for a soul".
At the end of the day this is a band whose target audience primarily lies with young teens, and whilst many people like myself (classified into the young adult bracket) can be said to be the primary supporters of this band, the songs will nevertheless continue to be aimed at a younger audience, meaning that they are bound to forego stories of love interests and heartbreak. Eventually there will come a time when love songs aren't enough, at least for the current generation and that is where we find the criticism for the band: not necessarily for their talent, which is wholesomely rich, but in the matter of their songs and the vivacity with which they are performed. In my opinion, Drag Me Down is quite a lot different from the tracks taken from their last album, Four, and that is why it appeals to me. If you're someone who is sceptical of the band's sense of originality in the track and their music in general then there's all the more reason to check this out.
Drag Me Down is out now on iTunes.
At the end of the day this is a band whose target audience primarily lies with young teens, and whilst many people like myself (classified into the young adult bracket) can be said to be the primary supporters of this band, the songs will nevertheless continue to be aimed at a younger audience, meaning that they are bound to forego stories of love interests and heartbreak. Eventually there will come a time when love songs aren't enough, at least for the current generation and that is where we find the criticism for the band: not necessarily for their talent, which is wholesomely rich, but in the matter of their songs and the vivacity with which they are performed. In my opinion, Drag Me Down is quite a lot different from the tracks taken from their last album, Four, and that is why it appeals to me. If you're someone who is sceptical of the band's sense of originality in the track and their music in general then there's all the more reason to check this out.
Drag Me Down is out now on iTunes.
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