Flicker, released October 20, proves the Irish singer to have found his personal voice post-breakup of One Direction. The 13-track folk-pop album includes affecting melodies and gives us a little more insight on Niall’s song-writing abilities. I enjoy this album and being able to hear Niall on a full track album.

Looking more deeply, Flicker was co-written by Tobias Jesso Jr. as well as his One Direction collaborator Jamie Scott, but overall this album was mostly composed by Niall himself. I think his songwriting is straightforward and simple- but this doesn’t take away from the album because the songs themselves are good. I can’t exactly rip this album apart because of the simple lyrics; there’s not much more I could expect from this debut album.

Now, onto my favorites of the album. Flicker begins with the pop-rock track called “On the Loose,” that sounds a little like Adam Levine, and a fan favorite on the album. “Since We’re Alone” is more of a California rock track that reminds me a lot of Harry Styles (a lot of this album reminds me of Harry…. maybe a future collaboration in the future?). Now, we see a handful of songs on this album going more of the pop-rock route but there are also songs such as ‘Flicker’ that are stripped down, and have lyrics straight to the point. This song makes you feel something.

Overall, this album is enjoyable and easy to listen to. Horan released some of his singles before this album was released and they were hits on the radio- proving to us that this album will be worthy to listen to.

A lot of the time Niall’s voice was undermined while in One Direction, but songs like ‘Mirrors’ and ‘On My Own’ prove that he can stand on his own in the industry.