Everybody knows the famous boyband made up of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson, One Direction. On November 13th, they released Made in the A.M. (MITAM), their fifth album without ex-member Zayn Malik. This album is a collection of modern songs with a mix of a 90’s early 2000’s feel to it, with inspiration from Fleetwood Mac, Oasis, Train, The Strokes, Kings of Leon, (even Willy Wonka) and many more. With the inspiration from these legendary artists, One Direction has produced a legendary album.

Before the album was released, they released “Infinity”, “Perfect” and their single “Drag Me Down”. These songs really are the essence of the album and there wasn’t a better way to get fans excited about the new music. Though every album made by One Direction is a masterpiece in its own, MITAM could easily be called their best so far. This album is very mature and somewhat different from their previous works, especially from the very beginning with Up All Night. Whereas Up All Night was very pop influenced and young, MITAM is an album is for a more grown up audience, talking about friendship, love, and their life on the road.

When I first heard the album, I was very taken aback by the vocals. With the absence of Zayn’s ability to reach those very high notes, the boys have taken it upon themselves to take the role and they totally nailed it. Not only did they master the vocals, but the accompaniment to each song is somewhat different than their previous works. The song “Olivia” is one of those different pieces, light and lovely, a fresh of breath air from the usual pop song heard on the radio. It’s even influenced by “Pure Imagination” in Willy Wonka, something not normally heard of on the radio.

With my first time listening through it, some other songs that really stuck out at me are “I Want to Write You A Song”, “Temporary Fix”, “Walking in the Wind”, “Wolves”, and “A.M.”. Each of these songs have an individuality that without a second glance, found their way in my heart. Both “Temporary Fix” and  “Wolves” are upbeat songs that just make you want to grab the nearest person and dance (or at least for me it does). They also have some very somber songs about their lives in the past five years, that bring on the more mature note of the album like “Walking in the Wind” and “A.M.”.

But the song that’s made the longest lasting impression on me is “I Want to Write You A Song”. Unlike any of their previous songs, this is a ballad about love. Typical I know, but this isn’t an undying love kind of ballad, this is much more innocent. This is about being so in love with someone that you can’t even describe your feelings towards them, in words and in a song. To keep with the tone of this being a simple song, they kept the accompaniment simple with just a piano and a guitar, making it more raw and personal. This combination of the lyrics and the tune, easily makes it my favorite song of the whole album.

No matter how much I listen to Made in the A.M. I am blown away by the amount that these boys have grown vocally and lyrically. And despite not touring the album like they have with the previous four, this MITAM will undoubtedly be played on radios and playlists for quite a while.