One Direction’s Made In The A.M. (Deluxe) Track-by-track Review

One Direction has had a soft spot in my heart since their debut with Up All Night. I’ve been closely following them through it all–from their achievements to Zayn’s departure to their recent album release, Made In The A.M. 

With this album, you can see One Direction finally coming into their own. Their gradual style shift that began with Midnight Memories and continued with Four has been finalized with this album. Their bubblegum, sugarcoated pop has grown more classy and Indie; it’s safe to say their music style has matured.

Without further ado, here is my unforgivingly honest  Made In The A.M. (Deluxe) track-by-track review. Let’s do this. Made In The A.M. (Deluxe) Track-by-track Review

#1 Hey Angel – 4/10

The introduction to this song is far too long–no one begins singing until around 0:30 and I have this strange personal rule where I just cannot like a song with a really long instrumental intro. The truth is, I get bored. It’s one thing if the song was worth suffering through 30 seconds of Coldplay mixed with gospel sounding music for it to begin, but it’s really not.

I was expecting this track to be one of my favorites because it seems to be lyrically strong, but it’s earned a seat on my least favorite list. The trippy Coldplay vibe and muted, far away sounding vocals cannot hold my attention. The bridge that Liam sings and then they all sing together is incredibly random and aggressive. This song is just a pieced together mess of confusion and boredom.

Favorite Lyric: “Hey Angel, Do you ever cry / When we waste away our lives?”

#2 Drag Me Down – 7.5/10

This was the first single released from the album and it definitely set the perfect tone. This track has a beach party sort of vibe. I love the “Screw you, no one can bring me down!” theme–it’s refreshing from the thirsty love ballads that One Direction tends to bang out. It’s quite the jam–while it’s not very lyrically strong, the instrumentals totally redeem it.

Favorite Lyric: “If I didn’t have you there would be nothing left / The shell of a man who could never be his best”

#3 Perfect – 3.8/10

Louis’ vocals in the beginning sound like he’s singing into a pond or something; they’re nasal-y and annoying to me. They have a weird, auto-tuned effect that makes me cringe. I really wanted to like this, but the autotune turned me off and the similarities to Taylor Swift’s “Style” is, truthfully, something I cannot get out of my brain. If I’m going to listen to either “Style” or this track, I’m going to go with “Style.” Sorry, boys. This track isn’t bad, it just doesn’t compare to other tracks on the album. WHY THE AUTOTUNE? That’s my biggest issue.

Favorite Lyric: “If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn’t do / Baby, I’m perfect.”

#4 Infinity – 7/10

The beginning of this is beautiful–props to Niall for killing the opening. The lyrics are very pretty and it’s the perfect mix of ballad and pop. The vocals are incredibly crisp and clear–I’m impressed. The upbeat chorus keeps you awake, while the lullaby style intros and transitions bring you peaceful vibes. The vocals are incredibly beautiful on this track–Louis and Niall definitely shine. I do have one major issue with this track–the end of chorus repetition of “Infinity, Infinitaaay, Infinitaaayaayayay, Infinity” is something that I could’ve done without. Also, the random instrumental, upbeat rock section was not needed. Chill, man.

Favorite Lyric: “Eyes can’t shine / Unless there’s something burning bright behind”

#5 End of the Day  – 9/10

This is one of those songs with an absolutely banging intro. It’s incredibly fast-paced and the background claps are incredibly effective. The slow motion sort of drum transition to the chorus is super fun and head bopping. The chorus isn’t exactly my favorite, but it works so well. This song is great for singing along to and playing on a road trip. You can get all soulful and light with the intro and then scream out the chorus. This track is definitely one of my favorites.

Favorite Lyric: “All I know at the end of the day / is you want what you want and you say what you say”

#6 If I Could Fly – 10/10

This track is a clear favorite. It was love at first play–as soon as I heard the first five seconds, I squealed and turned it up. PLAY THIS AT MY WEDDING AND FUNERAL PLEASE. I can picture slow dancing to this or a cute, romantic movie montage to this. This is one of my favorite One Direction songs of all time–I cannot rave about it enough. Its simple instrumentals and crisp vocals are absolutely stunning. I also think it’s funny how they sing, “I’m missing half of me when we’re apart” and a song from their older album is quite literally “Half a Heart”–they sure love references to half of things, don’t they?

Favorite Lyric: “I’ll show you my heart / For when you’re lonely and forget who you are,”

#7 Long Way Down – 8/10

This song is very slow and laid-back and I’m quite a fan. It’s a bit too slow to be one of my favorites, but I really do enjoy this track. It’s the kind of track you’ll enjoy if you listen to it, but you won’t go out of your way to play it. I’m surprised One Direction has so many slower ballads on this album–I’m very happy about that. This track just doesn’t go anywhere.

Favorite Lyric: “Built a cathedral / But we never prayed” 

#8 Never Enough – 1/10

What the f*** is this. A sumo wrestler shouting “Ahooohah” and the locacl Barbershop quartet seemed to have collaborated to form this piece of trash. This might actually be the worst One Direction song of all time. Its lyrics are incredibly basic and lack depth–they can’t even redeem the poor composition and weird instrumentals. Yikes

Favorite Lyric: I can’t even pretend to have one.

#9 Olivia – 2.5/10

My friend commented that this sounds like a “weird, Willy Wonka children’s cartoon song” and I entirely agree. This track is weird and trippy as hell–it has a cartoon, musical vibe. The fast-singing and weird, deep “I love you I love you, I lovalovaIlovallvlovoaOlivia” is irritating. What is this Candyland weird hybrid song? No thanks.This doesn’t fit in with the album at all. The part where they sing “in my imagination” is literally pulled from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, remember that song?

Favorite Lyric: I really tried to pick one, I really couldn’t pick a favorite at all.

#10 What A Feeling – 5.5/10

Every One Direction album has a stranger stalker song and this is the stalker song of the album. It has an 80s disco vibe and I’m personally not a fan. It sounds like an 80s tribute band’s old school radio hit that you hear playing while you shop in CVS or Kohl’s. Not crazy about it at all, but it’s not a bad song. I feel like I’m at an 80s prom. It’s funny–my three least favorites in the album are in a row. It’s convenient for skipping them.

Favorite Lyrics: “The sky fell down / But you’ve got stars in your eyes”

#11 Love You Goodbye- 7.5/10

I like it, but it’s not my favorite.  A little bit old school rock’n’roll radio tune, it reminds me of a rock’n’roll love ballad. I’m quite a fan of this track–it doesn’t have a major “wow” factor, but it’s definitely a jam-packed tune. It’s not a standout from the album, but it’s a nice track. The bit of acoustic guitar definitely won me over.

Favorite Lyric: “My heart’s already breaking, baby / Go on, twist the knife”

#12 I Want To Write You A Song– 6/10

Cute and folksy. Love the crispness of the voices and I don’t mind the somewhat odd lyrics. So cute. So pretty. It reminds me of Nick Jonas’s song from Camp Rock 2 called “Introducing Me.” It’s a bit too corny and it’s nothing crazy, but it’s a very sweet little ditty. lt makes me want to use the word “ditty” so I guess that sums that up. I like how you can hear a pen scratching words down in the background–very clever.

Favorite Lyric: “I want to write you a song / One to make your heart remember me”

#13 History – 7/10

This reminds me so much of a Jack Johnson song. I like the chill Sunday morning vibes and I’m sucker for songs that have claps. I just want to shake my head and bop to this song while I make pancakes. This is such a cute little number–it’s a bit forgettable, but I’m definitely a fan. This totally reminds me of the Full House theme song–not sure why, but I could see the Tanners just picnicking to this in San Francisco.

Favorite Lyric: “Thought we were going strong / I thought we were holding on, aren’t we?”

#14 Temporary Fix – 8.8/10

This sounds exactly like The Neon Trees. It’s essentially a booty call song but it’s such a jam and I absolutely dig it. This is such a great dancing song and while the lyrics are a bit shady, they just work.

Favorite Lyric: “If you’re not hooked to anything right now / I can be your vice”

#15 Walking in the Wind – 6.2/10

This is such a cute, happy walking song. I feel like you listen to this when you’re walking through the park with your Yorkie or something. It’s a very cute song but it’s nothing too great. The problem with this track is it just doesn’t go anywhere, but I do enjoy this number and the idea of it.

Favorite Lyric: “We had some good times, didn’t we? / We wore our hearts out on our sleeve”

#16 Wolves – 5/10

This sounds like a 90s family sitcom theme song and it makes me uncomfortable. This doesn’t have a place on the album but it is rather catchy. It’s an alright song–it’s not particularly bad or good so I find myself being apathetic. I really like the chorus but the rest is a bit drab.

Favorite Lyric: “I wish it wasn’t true / But the whole world’s tryna get a piece of you”

#17 A.M. –  9/10

I’ve been waiting for a One Direction song with a profanity for a while–to me, it feels natural and real to have a group of twenty year old men have a song that curses. It’s so tastefully timed. Remember the “People talk shhhhh but we don’t listen?” from Midnight Memories? They’ve finally done it. I love this. The raw acoustic guitar sounds and the relatable lyrics add such charm to this. Kudos for them for making an album title reference in this track, I love it. I wish it wasn’t a bonus track–it deserves to be on the album, track one.

Favorite Lyric: “We’re just swimming round in our glasses / And talking out of our asses”

Final Thoughts

Thus concludes my One Direction’s Made In The A.M. (Deluxe) Track-by-track Review. I’m totally digging this album. One Direction’s last album, Four, was incredibly disappointing to me but they’ve redeemed themselves incredibly well with this album. While there are some tracks that do not fit and the style fluctuates from song to song, Made In The A.M. is an album I’ll definitely have on repeat.

P.S. If you enjoyed this Made In The A.M. (Deluxe) track-by-track review, check out my reviews of Shawn Mendes’ Handwritten (Deluxe) or Melanie Martinez’s Crybaby.

 What are your favorite and least favorite tracks from the album?