Niall Horan Takes Listeners on an Emotional Rollercoaster with His New Album Heartbreak Weather
Photo courtesy of the Niall Horan Facebook page
Niall Horan released his highly-anticipated second album, Heartbreak Weather, on March 13, giving fans something completely unexpected after hearing his 2017 debut solo-album, Flicker. Listening to the first few tracks of the album, you’ll think “this is pretty cheerful for a breakup album,” but by the end, chances are the former One Direction member will have left you in tears. The album is speculated to be about Horan’s previous relationship with actress and musical artist Hailee Steinfeld. He has avoided this topic in interviews, but has said that he wrote the album about all stages of a relationship leading up to the breakup, not solely about the heartbreak, and tried to approach it from both perspectives. Heartbreak Weather does not necessarily have one cohesive sound, but instead plays with multiple styles of music, holding content for all music lovers.
After my second listen of the album, I had quickly fallen in love with every song. The album opens with the catchy title track which introduces the premise of the project. Horan sings fondly looking back with strong feelings on the memories of a relationship that has ended. The charismatic “Nice to Meet Ya” was Horan’s lead single for the album. The playful track is sonically very different from any of his other work, and set the tone for the sound of the album. Another single off the album, “No Judgement,” is a song that you can’t help but dance to. The chorus is reminiscent of Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber’s “I Don’t Care,” singing of a relationship where nothing else matters when you’re with the right person. The upbeat “Everywhere” is a mix between heartfelt and chaotic. The lyrics depict longing for someone else that you are no longer with, switching between Horan’s soft, stripped vocals and fast instrumentation. Some of my other must-listens include the sultry “Small Talk” and the hopeful “New Angel.”
Overall, Horan’s solo music reminds me a lot of One Direction’s Four. However, his first album was more comparable to Four’s more mellow songs like “Fireproof” and “Ready to Run.” Flicker has a heavy focus on acoustic guitar, while Heartbreak Weather experiments more with production. The latter has a more jovial sound, despite it being a breakup album, and has songs more similar to “Change Your Ticket” and “Girl Almighty.” On Heartbreak Weather, Horan leaped away from Flicker’s folk and country undertones, turning to a much more pop-oriented sound. Although the two are very different, Horan’s new album has a handful of songs that sound like those from his debut album such as “Bend the Rules” and “Arms of a Stranger.”
Horan has stuck to his 1D roots much more than his former bandmate Harry Styles, who released his second album Fine Line back in December. However, parallels can still be drawn between both of their newest albums’ breakup tracks. Horan’s second single from his album, “Put a Little Love on Me,” is comparable to Styles’ “Cherry,” both centered on craving a love that no longer exists. The last track on Heartbreak Weather, “Still” carries the same heart-wrenching passion as Fine Line’s “Falling,” and both are bound to leave listeners emotionally wrecked.
The release of Styles’ second album and new music from Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson caused many One Direction fans to become nostalgic, giving the band a lot of attention on social media. In late 2019, fans began to theorize that there would be a reunion this year to commemorate the group’s 10th anniversary, taking place the same night as Tomlinson’s tour stop in Vancouver. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has left summer tours up in the air and may have made this unlikely. Horan himself had to cancel his world tour that was slated to start at the end of April. Regardless, Niall assured fans that a reunion will happen eventually during his recent appearance on James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke. When asked if he actually thought One Direction would get back together, he answered with a confident “yes.” In a recent interview with The Sun, Payne perpetuated reunion rumors, saying that the bandmates are working on something to celebrate their milestone. Until we hear more of this reunion, I’ll be listening to Heartbreak Weather on repeat.