When One Direction was still around it was nearly impossible to escape them. Every pop radio cycled one of their singles every five songs. Fans (mostly girls) would wet themselves whenever they heard anyone mention them. Everyone else thought they were the next kings of comedy by making a joke about them that had been made ten million times before. When the infamous boy band split into solo careers, many wondered if their solo careers would bring something good to the table. Of course, that was not the case. Each tried some new things but ultimately failed. Well… there is one exception: Niall Horan.

Niall Horan stuck the closest to the One Direction style of inoffensive pop/rock with his solo debut Flicker. The record was actually pretty good, although not at all adventurous. He was just coming from the boy band and hadn’t yet found his footing. He kept it safe with plenty of love songs that were decent and well-performed. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and had some hope he would grow as a solo artist. All I wanted was for him to explore more new ideas and maybe develop more distinct vocals as seen on “On The Loose”. Instead we got Horan looping back to where he started without developing anymore interesting traits on Heartbreak Weather.

You would think after coming in third on X Factor, being put in a group with four others with more diverse vocals during that time, becoming the biggest boy band in the world, and having the chance to explore new ideas after One Direction broke up that Niall Horan would have obtains any sort of recognizable voice. On his second solo record, he still sounds like every other middle-of-the-road pop star with a guitar. Maybe he could have brought some new topics and lyrical motifs to the table to justify the lack of growth in his vocals, but Heartbreak Weather is a highly loose concept album about fearing loneliness and falling in love. Love albums are fine when there is diversity; not the same few ideas rehashed into different cliché metaphors. Most songs follow the motif of meeting someone and feeling like the whole world is great. “Black and White” sees them getting older together. “Small Talk” has Horan skipping getting to know the girl and indirectly alluding to them going to have sex made offputting by the flat attempt at funk that MAYBE could have worked if the song had any sexual charge. “New Angel” attempts to get personal by letting this girl fill a void in his heart, but the angel metaphor is weak.

Although a fair amount of tracks are inoffensive pop rock ballads, there are a few attempts at new ideas. “Bend The Rules” is more of a contemporary country song with some twangy guitars on the hook, but doesn’t have any emotional weight and the lyrics feel overly paranoid which would make for a toxic relationship. “Cross Your Mind” is a track loaded with needy behavior once again offset by the vibe – this time a funky jam with flat and flavorless drums (like much of this record). “Nice To Meet Ya” is probably the most memorable song off of Heartbreak Weather for having some actual energy leaning towards more bass heavy rock and some catchy pianos.

Only if every track followed suit with “Nice To Meet Ya”. Maybe Heartbreak Weather wouldn’t have been forgettably bland. Outside of that track, Niall Horan released a collection of incredibly safe and mediocre tracks. Not many moments scream out as horrendous, but it is disappointing that he took two steps back instead of growing after Flicker. The main blame would be having to appeal to younger audiences and be radio friendly. That isn’t an excuse anymore in my eyes though. Artists like Lizzo, Billie Eilish, and even Lil Nas X retained quality and artistic integrity last year and still appealed to widespread audiences. Niall Horan on the other hand has decided to ride the wave of popularity to mediocrity.

Favorite Tracks: “Nice To Meet Ya”; “Everywhere”

Rating: 4/10

Released: 03/13/2020

Label: Capitol Records

Genres: Pop, Rock

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RATING SCALE

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