Review: 1D Niall Horan’s Flicker

4/5

We’ve long been a fan of the One Direction boys here at b**p and have taken great pleasure in following their journey to stardom from the beginning.

Since the biggest band ‘break-up’/hiatus (depending on what you read) in showbiz since Take That in 2016, the boys have been going solo, with each one of them releasing their own material.

Niall Horan is the latest of the boys to release some new songs to the army of 1D fans around the globe with his new album Flicker reaching second place on the UK iTunes chart within the same day of its release last Friday.

It is difficult to be disappointed with Horan’s debut solo album. It is perfect for autumn; each song is heavily dependent on the strings of his acoustic guitar he has played throughout his years in the spotlight. Flicker is a ‘soft’ kind of album – it’s nothing outrageously ambitious but it’s equally not beige. And, thankfully, it is miles away from fellow band mate Liam Payne’s Shaggy rip-off and attempt at club classics.

One of the real gems on the album is You and Me – a slow, acoustic song that is a calm musical ride. The lyrics fit and aren’t too outrageous, like in his summer hit Slow Hands where fans of the Irish singer pretty much lost all self control.

Ultimately, though, the best song on Flicker is Seeing Blind, a collaboration of the beautifully velvet voices of Horan and Maren Morris. The beginning’s jerks sound as though they are from Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years (which is another brilliant song) and the two vocals are just perfect together. It is catchy – not in the way other 1D member Louis Tomlinson’s songs have been as cleverly crafted and extra ‘poppy’ – and a genuine joy to listen to.

Flicker is definitely up there next to Harry Styles’ self-titled debut material despite their difference in both styles (pardon the pun) and striking ambition.

It’s as though Niall’s had a large slice of humble pie – and it works so very well. Just delicious.