Music Review: One Direction "Night Changes'

One Direction

Night Changes

Album: Four

Year: 2014

            Harry Styles and his girlfriend live life to the fullest in the blissful “Night Changes.”

          Dreamy synths open the single, setting a lovestruck tone. Zayn Malik takes the first verse. Her mom asks him about how English test went as they wait. He said it was ok but his eyes move to watch her as she walks down the stairs in a burgundy minidress. Her mother shakes her head and tells her the dress isn’t age-approriate for her to wear. His girlfriend shrugs and gives him a kiss on the cheek. (“Going out tonight, changes into something red/Her mother doesn't like that kind of dress/Everything she never had, she's showing off.”)

          In the pre-chorus, Liam Payne says his pulls out of her driveway and heads onto the main street, hitting 60 miles an hour in his convertible. She’s laughing and the wind is blowing hair all over in a pretty mess. She tells him she wants do something crazy tonight. (“Driving too fast, moon is breaking through her hair/She's heading for something that she won't forget/Having no regrets is all that she really wants.”)

          In the chorus, Styles says in two years, they will be in their 20s. With each passing year, their youth is slipping away. College brochures are already being handed to him and he’s being asked by his counselors what he would like to do with his life. He tells her that no matter what happens, the moments between them will last forever. (“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/Everything that you’ve ever dreamed of/Disappearing when you wake up/But there’s nothing to be afraid of/Even when the night changes/It will never change me and you.”)

           Louis Tomlinson takes the second verse. She says she’s ready to lose her virginity to him tonight. She asks him if he loves her. He stamps out his cigarette on his porch and tells her yes. (“Chasing there tonight, doubts are running 'round her head/He's waiting, hides behind a cigarette/Heart is beating loud and she doesn't want it to stop.”)

            In the pre-chorus, Niall Horan says she doesn’t want to look back and wish she would’ve been with him. (“Moving too fast, moon is lighting up her skin/She's falling, doesn't even know it yet/Having no regrets is all that she really wants.”)

             Styles sings the chorus again.
    

            In the bridge, Malik says his girlfriend’s mother wishes she was young again. (“Going out tonight, changes into something red/Her mother doesn't like that kind of dress/Reminds her of the missing piece of innocence she lost.”)

            Styles sings the chorus again.
          

            In the final section, he says he won’t ever forget his time with her. (“It will never change, baby/It will never change, baby/It will never change, me and you.”)

                 One Direction’s uneven vocals (as a group) distinguish who has truly grown and who hasn’t. Malik has really improved. His vocals have a depth and emotion they didn’t have before. However, Styles needs to go solo now. He handles the chorus with far more maturity than the rest of the band (with the exception of Malik) who seem to be stuck on dopey school boy.

               The picturesque “Night Changes” is a beautiful ballad that magnifies Styles’ starpower.