One Direction, "Midnight Memories" (Columbia)
What's the mother of the average American tween to do as the holidays approach? Miley has twerked her way out of the stocking, for sure. Justin Bieber invites too many questions. And most of the women of pop are exploring very adult themes that are rated at least PG-13.
One Direction steps into that giant void just in time for Black Friday, providing nervous mothers with the perfect gift: "Midnight Memories." The album is full of positive choruses and playful not pornographic takes on love and life. Smartly promoted around release, the third album from the British boy band is definitely mom bait.
It's a pretty good record, too. The quintet has released a lot of music in a short period of time, usually a challenge for young acts.
Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson take baby steps forward from their two platinum-selling 2012 releases, "Up All Night" and "Take Me Home," adding some musical edge and variety, mostly through the use of turned-up guitars and hit surfing through the mom-friendly 1980s.