Back in 2013, I reviewed One Direction’s third album Midnight Memories for this very publication. I gave it three stars, but my barely concealed Directioner status was outed as it apparently read so much like a five star review, according to the then Music Editor, that it was labelled as such in the newspaper.

Two years on, I am clearly completely over this humiliating incident as the boys release their fifth album. I’m partially over it because even wounds as deep as those heal in two years, but also because they’ve come a long way since then, even if few outside of their swarms of fans are willing to listen to their new tracks and find out. Maybe my previous review sounded like a five star one because writing a One Direction review can often feel like having to write a judicial defence of why you would listen to it at all, but the reason is the same as ever: sometimes, you need pop music.

This album is particularly significant to the One Direction oeuvre because it’s the first one they’ve released since Zayn left the group, as well as the last one they’re due to release before their hiatus. Zayn’s presence isn’t really missed here, perhaps since he was just one voice among many. If Harry left they’d have much more of an issue, given that his vocals stand out among the otherwise reasonably pedestrian voices of the rest of the group. For that reason, the band’s management will probably want to keep a pretty close eye on him while they’re on their break, as he’ll no doubt be in high demand.

The album’s swansong status is noticeable in the greater number of ballads, which is a shame because ballads are something One Direction can’t do that well. They don’t have the vocal power to sustain tracks like ‘If I Could Fly’ or ‘Love You Goodbye’, which require more nuanced performances to work. ‘History’ is one of the better attempts, although its lyrics are remarkably similar to the Girls Aloud’s ‘Whole Lotta History’. Ballads, it’s safe to say, are not the band’s strong point , but there are lots of fun tracks here too.

On the subject of fun, one of the best ways to get to grips with the album is to turn to Twitter and see what the fans make of it. Naturally, there are already many theories about the true meanings of several songs, my personal favourites being that ‘A.M.’ is a tribute to the loss of Zayn, and that ‘Perfect’ is really about Harry and Louis’ secret relationship, documented in numerous YouTube clips and ostensibly in lyrics like “If you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms / And if you like having secret little rendezvous.” I’m convinced.

Fan theories aside, where they excel, though, they really do make some fantastic, unadulterated pop, in tracks like the recent single ‘Drag Me Down’, super perky ‘Olivia’ and the standout track of the album, ‘End of the Day’. This last one is great for its unapologetically silly lyrics, “The priest thinks it’s the devil/my mum thinks it’s the flu/But girl, it’s only you.” One Direction is a pop band for the postmodern, hyper self-aware generation, at their best when the fun they’re no doubt having (whether that includes secret intra-band trysts or not) comes across in their music, as it often does in this album. This time round I’ll give them four stars, but if an editorial decision ups that to five, it’s alright with me. [Ed. note: Don’t worry, four sounds just fine.]