As most teenage girls probably know, One Direction’s newest album, Midnight Memories, was released on Monday, Nov. 25. After senior Ashley Kitchen mentioned that I should review it, I decided to take her up on that “challenge.” And after listening to the album, I was surprised. To be honest, it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

This album is different than One Direction’s last two. They experiment with some new sounds, and there’s a clear influence by folk and classic rock. Some of the songs have more lyrical depth than others, and the band seems to have abandoned their “na na na”s that were prominent in the last two albums. Overall, One Direction has grown up. Nothing is really different vocally though, and the vocals of some songs are rather lackluster.

A few tracks do stand out on the album. “Best Song Ever” opens the album with the poppy, upbeat and danceable vibe that One Direction is known for. “Little White Lies” takes the band in a different direction (no pun intended), as they use electronic beats almost reminiscent of a dubstep sound. Heavy, classic rock guitars accompany the track “Little Black Dress,” where One Direction finally lives up to the rock half of their pop rock sound. The title track, “Midnight Memories,” blends their upbeat sound with loud guitars and somewhat risqué lyrics to create an overall edgy sound for the band. Lastly, “Story of My Life,” my favorite track off the album, has a folk rock sound almost reminiscent of Mumford & Sons and builds to a loud and powerful chorus.

Overall, I have two criticisms of the album. First, many of the songs have the same general sound. While there are clearly some amazing tracks, the others are just generic and get boring after a while. With only a bit over a year between this album and their last, some filler content was expected, but not this much. The boys need to learn quality over quantity. Also, the hype surrounding the album bothered me. The band’s core fan base, teenage girls, have been “fangirling” over the album for ages and many only bought it because they think the singers are hot. It probably wouldn’t have mattered how good the album actually was, because these girls would have still loved it. Albums should be appreciated because of actual musical content, not just because of hot singers with whom you are “in love.”

So, even though not all of the album is something to talk about, it’s still worth a listen. And while I may have not been turned into a Directioner, I have learned to appreciate the band’s music a bit more.