One Direction - FOUR Album Review! 1D Are All Grown Up!

There is literally no stopping One Direction. Following a sell-out world tour and another promised next year, the lads are back with fresh material in the form of their fourth album, appropriately titled FOUR.

This time around, the band prove they are NOT just pretty faces, with 1D all showing off their song-writing skills by contributing to the album's twelve tracks.

Following the release of teaser song Fireproof and lead single Steal My Girl, Directioners have been gagging for more 1D goodness, and we can confirm that FOUR, for the time being, will satisfy their needs.

Stand out songs include the Ed Sheeran and Passenger penned track 18, which is a cutesy ballad and typical Sheeran. It's almost the follow-up to their No.1 single Little Things and will leave girls across the world wishing the lads' were singing about them.

Another highlight is Fools Gold, which has been written by Jamie Scott - the man behind Story Of My Life and You & I. It's a light and fluffy guitar led track, very floaty and dreamy - just like 1D.

Folk-inspired tune Ready To Run is also worth a listen with its guitar rifts and brilliant harmonies and we can just imagine it filling stadiums. 

Where Do Broken Hearts Go - co-written by Harry Styles - is a rock-pop inspired mid-tempo track, which comes complete with a typically catchy chorus, memorable lyrics and is completely irresistible, a bit like the man himself.

Other worthy mentions include the very twinkly pop track Night Changes - which has been confirmed as the group's next single and from a first listen, wouldn't look out of place on a Taylor Swift album (sorry Hazza!).

The insanely catchy, almost anthemic, very fun Girl Almighty - which reminds us of something McFly / McBusted would put out - and the almost (we said ALMOST) Britpop track, No Control, also sees the lads shine.

Spaces - which was co-written by Louis and Liam - feels like 1D's best Oasis impression, while tunes Stockholm Syndrome and Clouds - fall a little flat compared to the much stronger, more sincere tracks.

All in all, FOUR is One Direction's most mature album to date. Instead of packing it with possible chart-toppers, it is instead a more complete body of work, displaying the growth of the 1D machine.

It is clearly riddled with the lads' own musical influences, with them showcasing their own song-writing ability, setting them aside from other X Factor pop puppets - this boyband known how to put together a tune.

Aside from the obvious pop tracks, it's refreshing to see Harry, Niall, Liam, Zayn and Louis experiment with musical genres and guitar-heavy tracks, with country and folk also found present.

With support from a killer team - including songwriters Julian Bunetta and John Ryan - we can't see the One Direction bubble bursting anytime soon, in fact, we're pretty sure we'll be blowing 1D-shaped bubbles for a long time to come.

FOUR is due for release on November 17.

By Joanne Dorken @MTVUK