The dawning of the new age of global boyband-dom is upon us and The Wanted recently sent their first new foray Chasing The Sun into the mix, waiting on a response from Team One Direction, who have been the bigger of the two worldwide. In came the news and rumour flood proclaiming a new video was to be released very soon and all the girls of the One Direction Fan Club rejoiced in the hope they'd see their chosen boy cavorting around a new landscape. His floppy hair/quiff shining in the sunlight, pulling at his jumper/bow-tie/braces and giving a cheeky wink solely AT YOU, no one else, otherwise you'd send that girl a death threat (as is known to be the default reaction for One Direction fans). Will the video for More Than This be the answer to a million young girls prayers and redefine the laws of humanity in the process? Errr, not quite. Ok for a start this isn't really a music video - it's one of those We-Couldn't-Be-Bothered live affairs which isn't actually live but appears to be sung live even though it isn't. Lyrics, i'm not bothered about analysis here because I'm sure they'll be extremely similar to the other singles i.e. Girl you are so amazing - I'm so in love with you - Imma flatter you now - LOVE MY CUTENESS. So it's to the actual visuals of this new video we look to; I'm probably going to sound clueless because I don't know much about this Up All Night: The Live (but not really live in this vid) Tour but what's going on here? Have I missed something? I feel a bit sorry for Liam because I completely glossed over his first verse trying to figure out where the staging was meant to be set. I see wood panelling, some awry bunting and there's water reflections flitting about all over the place.... Holiday park indoor pool? World's worst sixform common room? Early Queen's Jubilee celebrations in a flooded hotel lobby? I need a sit down.... Oh good thing there's a sofa onstage! No wait, it's an ugly abomination of upholstery remains (plus the lads keep getting off it so it must be highly uncomfortable), moving on... http://youtu.be/b-RQIN3wo5U Ah, well I think I was close to the mark with the common room comparison considering the random slice of latin above the fake screen door (Carpe Noctem - guaranteed at least two of the guys think that's a species of fish) and what appears to be a school uniform dress code. Except no one's wearing the same thing: Liam's blazer has dyed burgundy in the wash, Niall looks like he's wearing the lost property items, Louis thought it was Braces day, Harry thought it was bowtie Week and Zayn, in his junior school jumper, doesn't really care either way. He just wants this all to be over so he can have a cheeky cigarette out back... Update on the projection front - those were leaves floating about not water reflections, silly me. Clearly it's a ballad so it must be Autumn - ballads and sad things always take place in Autumn in Pop world. To be honest, there's just very little going on here and the conveyor belt solos (Liam walk to front, crowd cheer, walk back. Harry walk to front, crowd cheer, walk back...) are starting to grate and surely mean you only get to see your favourite for about 20 seconds tops. The big climax? Well the song is giving me light rave beeps and take-a-turn warbling which is pleasant but the performance is just a quick natter on the sofa like a group of lads bored on a free period at school. Confliction? Yes. Thrilling? Nope. It can't be argued that One Direction are a force to be reckoned with at the moment but, if I was a fan, I'd feel short-changed by this video. It's just a lazy effort to generate some interest in the tour, which is a plan with two major issues: one, most of the One Directions fans will already have tickets/been to see them already so who are they attracting? and secondly, they're trying to sell the tour with a ballad that features as little excitement as possible to the point where the band all give up and sit around the sofa in boredom. THIS would not make me want to go watch them perform which is surely the opposite effect of a live music video. Ballads can be the achilles heel for single-sex popbands anyways and last ballad single Gotta Be You did awful in comparison to the two identi-kit girl-complimenters What Makes You Beautiful and One Thing. Maybe it's just a case of their team not knowing how to market an extremely young boyband singing quite a grown-up slow song when their appeal is in their naive youthfulness and playful flirtation (ie. running around a beach, running around London - Oh the Lolz). In a way, this will be the deal-breaker in determining their career longevity on a global scale - hit a home-run with a ballad and show their versatility or fade into flash-in-the-pan one-trick nothingness like many that have gone before...