Artist: One Direction
Track: “Drag Me Down”
Album: TBA

A year after “Steal My Girl” ushered in an era where the members of One Direction were focused on songs built for stadiums, “Drag Me Down” has arrived to flip the script once more.

It’s all about the energy. From the moment “Drag Me Down” kicks in there is a thick bass line guiding the entire voyage that demands your legs prepare to dance. It’s a ticking time bomb of pop sensibilities that quickly builds from the infectious first verse to a pre-chorus that pulls you in to the point where resistance is absolutely futile. When the chorus finally arrives, you’re in too deep to do anything except bob your head and tap your toes. The song hasn’t fully exposed itself yet, but the rising energy is palpable. You know something big is coming, but you don’t know just how it will show itself.

One Direction have never been the masters of surprise in pop music. Their albums play like rollercoasters of sugar-coated emotions. They’re fun and just diverse enough to keep you on your toes, but you know there is nothing that will come out of left field and take you by surprise. That isn’t what One Direction fans want, after all. They want these boys turned men to be the crooning heartthrobs they’ve always been, and to an extent they are, but “Drag Me Down” is proof there is so much more to their abilities as a group that we have yet to see put on display.

Really, “Drag Me Down” is exactly what One Direction need to release at this point in their career. Rumors of break-ups have been circling since the departure of Zayn Malik earlier in the year, and they’ve only grown stronger since news broke that Louis Tomlinson will soon be a father. The group is at a crossroads where they can either fall back on the incredibly simple, yet undeniable catchy sound that made them international sensations, or they can try and find something new to explore. “Drag Me Down,” while quite infectious, is that something new the group needs. It’s musically complex, with easy to learn lyrics and a hook that just won’t quit without being anything like the material found on the group’s previous albums. It’s new, and in the ever-disposable world of pop music new is everything.

It’s probably too early to make any assumptions about what other new ideas One Direction will have to share on their upcoming album, but “Drag Me Down” is proof this so-called boy band still have a lot of gas in their tank. While previous generations of pop groups have fallen off after one, two, or even three strong albums, One Direction seem determined to become a group that delivers strong, inexplicably fun releases for as long as there are people who want to see them perform. Even if they do decide to one day hang it up, I imagine a future where the members return to the stage like New Kids On The Block have in recent years is not entirely outside the realm of possibility. If that is indeed the case, you can bet your ass I’ll be there singing along with every single song.

Written by: James Shotwell Follow @utgjames

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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