Album Review: Niall Horan – Flicker
2 min read
The unprecedented success of British five piece hit boy band One Direction took the country by storm before they conquered the world over as the number one pop act in a generation, gaining each of them a small army of dedicated fans in every country they visited. Out of that success, each of them have been in the spotlight for a series of independent ventures including solo releases (and the odd acting role!). Niall Horan, perhaps known as the most reserved of the group releases his debut solo effort titled Flickers, which whilst overlooked a little by many in the build up to it’s release, provides fans with an honest and uncomplicated record, that could possibly eclipse those of his One Direction counterparts.
The opening track to the album is On The Loose, which is every bit the catchy, pop driven sing along song that you would expect from the debut solo release from this chart-topping boy band member. The guitar notes that fly across the drums and pace bass line give this a feel of a track that could get a very frequent spot on national radio airtime.
After this, we do see an excursion into unusual but exciting territory for Niall, where a softer acoustic influenced songwriting enters the fray. Paper Houses and Seeing Blind featuring Maren Morris have all the hallmarks of wonderfully soft and bouncy country songs that must draw inspiration from the likes of esteemed songwriters; John Mayer springs to mind.
All in all, if you are or ever have been one of the cohorts of ‘Directioners’ across the globe, this album will be a great addition to your already extensive pop-hit collection, I’m sure! But as each of the solo efforts by the members of the band have probably gone unnoticed by many more, Flicker brings a pretty solid and surprisingly diverse album that might just surprise a few of you.
