Growth is a necessary and integral part of living life as a human being. Lately, for Niall Horan, growth means reclaiming the stage as a solo artist.
Horan has gradually shed the holds of One Direction while still keeping them close to his heart, as seen in his new single and his solo musical inclinations.
Throughout the five years that One Direction was a band, their musical style shifted and morphed, growing with them as they aged. The band itself wrote and performed primarily pop tunes, but their songs also displayed folk and techno influences.
Take “Fool's Gold” for example, partially written by Horan in 2014 and recently performed at the kick-off of his world tour, “Flicker Sessions 2017,” in Dublin. The single is both calming and lyrically mature.
Horan is continuing with the old 1D trend of melodic tunes and intricate lyrics as he prepares to set off and spread his music to wider audiences.
Horan’s newly released solo single “Too Much To Ask” starts off with Horan’s recognizable drawl accompanied by melodic piano, soothing guitar and a steady drum beat. The single itself elicits a raw feeling of vulnerability as Horan confesses feeling uncomfortable when deciding if asking where it “went wrong” is “too much to ask.”
Horan also poses the question if whether not being over someone once a relationship has ended is even something that’s okay to feel. The single doesn’t act so much as a cry for a help but as a chance to express a feeling of sadness and possibly regret for what used to be.
Horan impresses with his lyrical use of metaphors to convey his feelings in a way that doesn’t sound whiny but merely searching for some type of human connection to start healing what may have been lost from the ended relationship.
