Hear Me Out: One Direction’s Four

Hear Me Out is a column dedicated to earnest reevaluations of those cast-off bits of pop-cultural ephemera that deserve a second look. Whether they’re films, TV series, albums, comedy specials, videogames or even cocktails, Hear Me Out is ready to go to bat for any underappreciated subject.

One Direction’s admittedly uncreatively titled fourth album, Four will have been released 10 years ago this November. At the time of its release, I was an 11 year old in the fifth grade, and like many 11 year old girls that prided themselves on being a contrarian, I despised One Direction. I was too busy listening to “real music” like Adele and the Pitch Perfect soundtrack–not any of that cheesy crap that the other girls in my class would fawn over while donning their $40 sparkly t-shirts that read something along the lines of “I mustache you a question.”

With a new-found open mindedness and appreciation for the role One Direction played in pop culture during their heyday, I decided to give Four a full listen through back in February of 2021. I was 17 and finally holding myself accountable to listen to albums outside of the somewhat narrow taste I had curated for myself up until that point. So the question is: Is Four a misunderstood entry in the pop pantheon? Not exactly–if you want a defining pop record of that time, Taylor Swift’s 1989 is right there. However, for a record whose critiques mainly lied its blatantly manufactured nature, it’s aged surprisingly well.

Many reviews of the record upon release called the group’s longevity into question as the members’ boyish glow and teen sex appeal could only take them so far. Now that we know the answer to those questions (this record ended up being their last with Zayn Malik and their penultimate overall), what is often forgotten is that at their core, the plurality of the songs on Four are well constructed pop numbers in their own right. For a blockbuster pop release like this, the boys were assisted by relatively few songwriters and producers, the main players here being John Ryan (Sabrina Carpenter, John Legend, Maroon 5), Julian Bunetta (Sabrina Carpenter, Fifth Harmony, COIN), and Jamie Scott (Little Mix, Ellie Goulding, Jessie Ware).

Although certainly a sleeper hit at the time, standout track, and potentially the best song of One Direction’s catalog, “Night Changes” has finally been getting its flowers in recent years. “Night Changes” has become One Direction’s most streamed song on Spotify (currently sitting at 1.6 billion), and justifiably so. The song takes the vague teen girl self-insert formula championed by the Boy Band Industrial Complex and perfects it. The song switches from speaking about the subject in third person (“Everything she never had, she’s showing off”) in the verses to addressing the subject directly in the choruses (“We’re only getting older, baby / And I’ve been thinking about it lately / Does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night changes?”). The team behind this song doubled down on this trope in its effectively self-aware music video. The “Night Changes” music video is taken from the viewer’s POV and brings you on a unique romantic date with each member of the band. It seems as though they ran out of good ideas after Candlelit dinner with Zayn and ice skating with Harry (he ties your skates for you too, what a gentleman) The remaining three boys are left with a carnival in what looks like the middle of winter, playing Monopoly by the fireplace (a game that is notoriously not fun with only two players), and least creatively, driving around town with Louis.

The song itself is tender and quiet, which is a welcome juxtaposition from the overindulgence and excess that plagues much of One Direction’s discography. There are many times that pop songs in this vein poorly execute the classic whole step up key change, but this song does it in a way that’s so subtle (during the vocal harmony transition before the bridge) to the point where the question of whether or not it’s “earned” feels like an irrelevant conversation to have. There’s a certain craftsmanship that comes with the ability to create such a bulletproof pop song, and that’s what “Night Changes” exemplifies.

A solid chunk of Four is able to pull off influences of ’80s heartland rock to varying degrees of success, but when they hit their stride, it works impressively well. Take the George Michael-esque stadium rock of “Steal My Girl,” the album’s biggest hit upon release. The lyrics are the typical shallow “girl, you’re so beautiful” fodder that inhabits most One Direction songs, but you’d be lying to yourself by saying that those guitar licks aren’t infectious and the chorus isn’t catchy as hell. Similarly, my other contender for the group’s best song, “Stockholm Syndrome,” is unmistakably reminiscent of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” with its arpeggiating guitars and driving 12/8 shuffle. The vocal lick that connects the two halves of the chorus is pure ear candy, which entirely justifies why the producers wedged it into every open space possible. The vocal delivery by the group during the chorus is just as energized and all-in as when they had to really prove themselves in 2012. The lyrics are tongue-in-cheek in a way that’s charming even outside of the boy band context. The song’s subject is so irresistible that he’s her prisoner and won’t leave even if someone comes to “rescue him.” “Who’s that shadow holding me hostage? / I’ve been here for days / Who’s this whisper telling me that I’m never gonna get away? / I know they’ll be coming to find me soon / But I fear I’m getting used to being held by you” Harry and Zayn sing atop a building four-on-the-floor beat. “Baby look what you’ve done to me” is repeated throughout the choruses, and works so well as a charming lyrical wink. It’s pure pop perfection.

The standard edition closer “Clouds” harkens back to the Springsteens and Mellencamps of the world with its larger-than-life anthemic chorus and electric guitar licks mixed to be right in your face. It demands your attention, and you’ll have to tell Harry Styles how dreamy his eyes are 15 times before they’ll release their grip.

The retro approach One Direction and their producers took on Four played into their favor, quieting the tongues that were ready to pan yet another milquetoast hour of bubblegum pop. There was no decade that spat in the face of subtlety quite like the ’80s, and it was clear that 1D were primed by the hands of Simon Cowell himself to lean directly into those tropes. There is no subtlety to be had from four comically conventionally attractive British boys (and also Niall Horan) singing and dancing for young girls in arenas around the world. Four albums and a handful of years into their career, the public knew what to expect from 1D, and it doesn’t take a genius to acknowledge their main goal was to appeal to their core audience of teeny-boppers. Accomplishing that as successfully as these guys hasn’t been replicated since they announced their indefinite “hiatus” in 2015, and it may be quite a while until we see a phenomenon like One Direction again.