One Direction fans got a huge surprise this morning when the group made an announcement about their upcoming album, as well as giving fans a brand new song from the record to download for free for 24 hours. The song which is called “Fireproof” will be included on the bands upcoming release Four, which will be out on November 17th. For the past few months, rumors have been brewing about the direction of their new album. Hot off of the heels of the group’s 2013 effort Midnight Memories, fans were hoping that the band would continue their edgy pop music they released only a year ago, and after listening to the new song, the group is keeping their word.
While the band included the genres of rock, pop, and dubstep on Midnight Memories, on “Fireproof” we hear the band going back to the sound we heard on their hit “Story of My Life” which had a Mumford and Sons feel, while sounding like the band was trying to distance themselves from the teenage crowd and appeal to music fans their age, and possibly even older fans as each One Direction member is in their twenties. The song begins with the bands guitarist Dan Richards strumming an easygoing riff that doesn’t nearly have the punch we were hoping for when Four’s sound would be revealed, but the soaring chorus and the Coldplay like riffs played throughout the song will give any skeptical listener a change of heart, as the band now sounds far removed from their bubblegum days of “What Makes You Beautiful” off of their 2010 debut record Up All Night.
Every member of the band sounds like they feel right at home singing each verse of the song, especially Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. While both members have great voices, neither of them have the gorgeous or powerful vocal capacities of their band mates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Liam Payne. As Tomlinson sings “I feel like I’m gonna win this time/riding on the wind and I won’t give up/I think I’m gonna win this time/I rule, and I rule, and I rule ‘till I change my love”, he sounds incredibly confident, more so than he has on his past One Direction solos, finally cementing himself as one of the group’s biggest assets when his voice is used at the right time. Horan, who has the right voice to front a rock band, gives a breezy vocal performance for his solo, as the track’s light vibe is the perfect backdrop for his lighter vocal performance. And as the band harmonizes together on the line “no one loves you baby, the way I do” we are reminded that big sweeping choruses are made for bands like One Direction as each member’s different vocal abilities work seamlessly together.
While we won’t hear the rest of Four until the middle of November, “Fireproof” is an incredibly strong start for a band that started off as sixteen year old teenybopper idols.
