Louis Tomlinson returned on Friday, Jan. 23 with his first album in almost four years, “How Did I Get Here?” Consisting mostly of sub-three-minute sunny pop rock, the album was a solid success for the former One Direction solo underdog.
The lead single and album opener, “Lemonade,” serves as a thesis statement for the album. Consisting of a synth-focused instrumental and interesting percussion, the highlight of the song is an ethereal bridge featuring reverb-drenched keyboards.
“On Fire” reaches its peak in the chorus, where gang vocals repeat the title backed by a groovy synth track and a solid four-on-the-floor drumbeat. It’s the closest this album gets to Tomlinson’s roots in 2010s pop.
“Sunflowers” stands out mostly for its scat-inspired vocal riffs in the chorus, along with its ascending synth intro that characterizes the song throughout.
A song about taking comfort in doing nothing, “Lazy” feels darker than many of the other songs and features a low yet semi-melodic bassline in its forefront.
“Palaces,” the album’s second single, has one of the most interesting rhythm sections of any of the tracks and thrives when it lets the drums do the heavy lifting. The chorus feels a bit overproduced, and it feels similar toother songs on the record that could have worked better as singles, but the song is a good one nonetheless.
The production lightens back up on “Last Night.” The song isn’t especially memorable until its outro, which introduces a synthy guitar line and bells that keep the song interesting just when it begins to dull.
Opening with a pulsing synth and being carried along in the verses by its choppy guitar undercurrent, “Broke Bones” ultimately comes off as disjointed. It falls apart a bit in the chorus musically and with its emphasis on the “f-word,” which comes off more as goofy than passionate.
“Dark to Light” is the first true ballad on the album and features the cleanest vocals. The percussion doesn’t come in until about halfway through, leaving plenty of room for Tomlinson’s heartfelt lyrics that seemingly paytribute to his late bandmate Liam Payne and contrast perfectly with the early heaviness of the album.
“Imposter” jolts you back into the preceding heaviness with a protruding synth line throughout, coupled with a grungy guitar riff reminiscent of something you might hear on a Tame Impala album.
“Sanity” sits in its own irony as Tomlinson talks to himself out loud while claiming to have his sanity. The toy piano is a nice touch that can’t be found elsewhere on the album.
Another track that feels overproduced in its chorus, “Jump The Gun” remains relevant with a few unique musical ideas; mainly its backing vocals and country-sounding guitar towards the end.
A straight guitar-led ballad, “Lucid” is a song that is begging to be brought to the next level musically and almost is when a semi-militarist snare drum beat comes in a little after two minutes into the song. Unfortunately, the payoff to this buildup is a soft synth outro that brings the album to a close.
The lyrics are fine but plain and aren’t enough on their own to give this song the closure it desperately needs. Ultimately, it’s a flimsy ending to a strong project.
The word that repeatedly comes to mind while listening to this album is “heavy.” Between the driving synths that define the record and the distorted guitars peppered throughout, along with the generous usage of vocal effects, the album can feel overproduced at times but has enough intriguing musical ideas that leave you wanting to hear more.
Review: 4.1/5