7 August 2015
It was the fate of most boy bands and girl groups to have one member leave. In the case of One Direction, we probably all thought it would be high-profile Harry who’d be first to do a Robbie-style bolt for solo success. Instead, Zayn left for personal reasons. ‘Drag Me Down’ was 1D’s first single as a foursome. (Confusingly, or portentously, their final album as a five-piece had been called Four.)
While not as satisfyingly thoughtful or memorable a song as ‘Story Of My Life’, ‘Drag Me Down’ is still alright. It goes for a modish mix of feels from folktronica and build-and-drop EDM, garnished with—and perhaps this is the similar NASA-set video suggesting it to me—a touch of the sparse reggae-lite groove of The Police’s ‘Walking On The Moon’ to continue the fine 1D tradition of trolling the dadrockers. The rich and textured production here makes you wonder how Boyzone got away with records that just had a producer playing a keyboard. And the four lads still have their puppyish charm.
We’ll see one last chart-topping single from One Direction here shortly after this. That will also be the final number one single in Ireland from a boyband.
