Niall Horan in a perfect Show

Oh, oh, oh. Harry Styles just got competition and it is from no other but his fellow ex-One Direction Niall Horan. The lad with the endearing Irish accent, just dropped a new album. Titled The Show, it is a sparkling pop-rock package that elevates Horan into major artist territory.

Not that Horan is less than a major. His five years spent as a member of the defunct One Direction (1D), which was one of the biggest boy bands of all time, have already taken care of that. To his dying day, Horan will forever hear the screams and see the swooning faces again and again each time he hears What Makes You Beautiful and Story of My Life.

It is also not that Horan has no solo career to speak of. He has released two solo albums since 1D went into hiatus seven years ago. Remember they said hiatus then, which means that the separation is only hopefully temporary. So diehard fans are still hoping for that hard to put together but certainly earth-shaking reunion.

So, whiIe fans were waiting for that dreamed of reunion, Horan embarked on a solo career and subsequently released two albums Flicker and Heartbreak Weather. Out of these, he harvested some very good hit singles like Slow Hands, The Towns, Nice to Meet Ya, Put a Little Love on Me and my big favorite Still.

Now, here comes his third, The Show, which is certainly his best. Not really a surprise as Horan’s singing and songwriting were among 1D’s strong points. But with The Show, I got this very strong feeling that he has stepped up to higher ground. This is a short, purposeful and cohesive album. It is an engaging romp that leaves the listener satisfied but also wanting more. Given how The Show sounds, I am sure that he will come up with that “more” soon and that fourth album will be even better than this one.

There are 10 cuts in The Show and there is nothing epic or dark about any of them, which I like. Nice tunes about common subjects. Horan uses simple language in intimate tones to sing them and frames these against lush music arrangements. A flourish here and there, some big closings but all kept to just the right amount. Mostly piano-driven, some guitars, strings, synths and even some ‘60s vibe. Save My Life, one of the best cuts and the only rocker could have come out of a Beach Boys catalogue.

The themes alternate between two types of love. One is romantic with the opposite sex as in Heaven and You Could Start a Cult. The other talks to people struggling with depression or the fear of being alone, Meltdown and Science. The latter is already this week’s hottest trending tune and this augurs well for the success of the entire album.

The closer and certainly the best cut is Must be Love, a lovely ballad where Horan flows through, “If it feels like love, it must be love,” like he is so happy that he means every word. Then there are On a Night Like Tonight, Never Grow Up, If You Leave Me and The Show, which would also make strong singles.

Admittedly, the 29-year-old Horan still has to attain the level of success set by Styles. Think Album of the Year in Harry’s House and Record of the Year with As It Was aside from all the media hoopla that Styles generates. However, given how The Show makes the listener feel, I will not be surprised if all those prizes are now within Niall Horan’s reach.

So now I got to thinking, it is also time for us to hear from the other boys of 1D. Styles must be taking a well-deserved break so we will let him be but I wonder what Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne are up to. It would really be nice if all of them could end up not only successful but also solo artists with songs for the ages.