One Direction, 02 Arena

It is reassuring to note, since Simon Cowell self-interestedly plucked five young boys out of mainstream education to mould them each into preening, globe-straddling multi-millionaires, that he has been keeping his young bucks up-to-date with their maths: Four is the title of One Direction's latest release, and it is thus comforting to observe that this is indeed the fourth album by these strange new gods.

Four (also, interestingly, one less than the number of children in the band) marks a notable diversion from their previous aesthetic, introducing power chords and sub-Springsteen rooftop-down choruses (as in the increasingly ubiquitous Steal My Girl) to the band's already complex sonic landscape.

By further remarkable coincidence, Four is also three less than the number of dates 1D will play at the O₂ in September next year, and while the fickle fortunes of the pop industry are notoriously difficult to foretell, we may even have heard Five by then – something about these young go-getters tells us that the 1D story is only just beginning.