After teasing its hordes of fans and stoking the unquenchable fires of its fandom, One Direction finally released the music video for “Midnight Memories”-and it’s One Direction at its most adorably rebellious state.
“Midnight Memories” shows the band apparently cutting loose, but if you were hoping the boys would tear through the London nightlife like a well-gelled wrecking ball, you’ll be sorely disappointed. The video is a clean-cut, PG tale of our favorite boy band ditching a lame cast party, getting some late night grub, racing the elderly in scooters, and finally straddling on top of the Tower Bridge in London, all while belting out a catchy pop rock anthem-because normal people do these things.
A One Direction music video is good for two things. First, it helps the casual (rare) listener figure out which members sing when, because to a certain extent, all high-pitched male vocalists sound pretty similar. Second, a One Direction music video-in this particular case, “Midnight Memories”-is good for reminding one that he or she does not hate the boy band as much as initially thought.
There’s nothing wrong with the video. The production is smooth with editing just quick enough to match the pace of the song. Nothing in the video, however, really stands out. The video doesn’t add much to what was already a pretty catchy song, but it certainly reinforces the clean-cut image One Direction has built over the past few years. The young rockers avoid anything remotely controversial, but still somehow project a certain cuddly edge. In the video, the band members do steal a boat, but they also appear to hand a check to the dock officer in the process. At least they’re polite, well-dressed hooligans.
