One Direction: 'Up All Night' - Album review

After watching One Direction blossom (quite literally in one case) on last year's X Factor, not only did we long for the return of the original reality talent series Popstars, but we were genuinely excited for their inevitable album. Judging by their song choices on the show, we gladly set ourselves up for a collection of PG pop-rock with killer choruses.

True to their word, Up All Night delivers exactly that - and then some. Lead single 'What Makes You Beautiful' - a toe-tapping, Pink-meets-McFly mash-up with a breezy guitar pop melody - sets the tone to a tee; with the lion's share of uptempos, including 'One Thing' and the title track, following a similar template. Fortunately, there's too much enthusiasm to accuse them of negligence.

More surprising is their ability to carry off a sizeable ballad. The earworm chorus on 'More Than This' and heartfelt lyrics on 'Taken' ("You don't really want my heart/ You just like to know you can") are some of the best slowies to come out of boyband land in recent years; making their decision to release the significantly less exciting 'Gotta Be You' as the second cut all the more mind-boggling. Sure, it's only playground love, but sometimes that's the best kind.

Occasionally they dip into lazy habits - 'I Want' veers towards the predictable, 'Everything About You' lacks any real hook and despite the Euro-friendly closer 'Stole My Heart' being perfectly serviceable, it makes for an odd last-minute addition. The overall result is an adorable as expected debut that also has a surprising amount of bite. Future boybands beware: this one means serious business.

Tracks to download: 'What Makes You Beautiful', 'Up All Night', 'Taken', 'More Than This', 'I Wish'
If you like this, you'll like: McFly, The Wanted, Joe Jonas

Watch the 'Gotta Be You' music video below: