Title: Take Me Home
Label: Columbia
Considering the average attention span of a pre-teen girl, it's not surprising that One Direction didn't waste any time making a follow-up to Up All Night, the album that launched this Brit boy band into pop superstardom.
After all, when there's no set date for the arrival of "the next big thing," it's imperative to strike while the proverbial iron's hot, something One Direction and their crack marketing team clearly understands.
What's also crucial to the success of the final product is not tinkering with the formula too much. And while the songs on Take Me Home are certainly as catchy as ever, the lyrics have definitely undergone a radical transformation. It's no longer just the puppy love sentiments that cause the younger set to swoon, it's way more sexualized this time around.
No doubt, today's pop music is definitely more risqué than ever, whether it's Maroon 5, Rhianna or Katy Perry slipping countless innuendos into their songs. But what's even more disturbing is when a pre-teen favorite like One Direction is doing this.
Rather than celebrating the fairer sex's intelligence, personality or good heart, the bulk of the tracks on Take Me Home like "Kiss You," ""Little Things" and "Last First Kiss" focus on beauty that's skin-deep and nothing more.
Casual sex is also references in several songs, which is more than a little disturbing given the target audience, and in "Live While We Are Young," a young suitor encourages his gal pal to sneak out of her parents house and go driving with him all night.
Sure, when it's all said and done, the music harmless enough, even hearkening back to the innocence of early Beatles recordings. But when you actually listen in, it's clear that One Direction is headed in a new direction that's less that admirable. Even if you don't expect your average pop star to be a role model, you can't help hoping for more when a group is this popular. And truth be told, young girls deserve so much more than what these guys are serving up.
*This Review First Published 11/20/2012
