Flicker (Niall Horan song)

Background

Niall Horan has said that the title track "Flicker" was the most significant song on his debut album, calling it a key turning point that reshaped how he recorded everything else. He credited Damien Rice's album O as a direct influence on the production of both "Flicker" and "Paper Houses." The entire record was shaped by classic rock bands like Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, and Horan described its overall sound as a mix of folk and pop.

Promotion

The album's lead single, 'This Town', was released on 29 September 2016 with an accompanying music video of a live performance. The second single, 'Slow Hands', was released on 4 May 2017 and received favourable reviews from critics, with Billboard describing the song as a 'R&B-inflected rock tune'. 'Too Much to Ask' was released as the third single on 15 September 2017, with its music video uploaded to YouTube on 21 September 2017. 'On the Loose' was announced as the album's fourth single on 5 February 2018 and began playing on US Mainstream Top 40 radio on 20 February 2018. 'Seeing Blind' was the fifth single in June 2018, with an official acoustic video clip released on 4 June 2018. Horan embarked on his first headlining concert tour, Flicker Sessions, to promote the album, beginning on 29 August 2017 at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, the album has an average score of 64 out of 100, indicating 'generally favorable reviews' based on 5 reviews. Nick Levine of NME called its content 'appealingly simple and straightforward', noting Horan's influences of Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, and praised it as a 'promising' and 'well-pitched' debut. Neil Yeung of AllMusic noted Horan's 'big first step' into musical maturity, finding his 'own voice'. Andy Gill, for The Independent, wrote that Horan 'keeps faith with the West Coast influences that first drew him into music', while also noting Fleetwood Mac's influence and complimenting 'the formula of fat, warm bass and drums anchoring light guitars'.

Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph commented that 'the songs are immediately distinctive' and called the album 'tasteful', adding that 'chord changes are sweetly satisfying, melodies spill gently forth with singing that is soft, tuneful and emotionally understated'. Writers for Rolling Stone named Flicker one of the top albums of the year, writing that Horan 'turns on the soft-rock charm on his solo debut' and that the album allows 'Horan to winkingly flaunt his fully grown status'.

Ed Power of The Irish Examiner praised the album's authenticity and the 'level of tepid craftsmanship, from which it rarely departs' while calling Horan 'unquestionably an accomplished musician and vocalist'.

Commercial performance

Flicker landed at number one in both Ireland and the Netherlands. In the US, it topped the Billboard 200 with 152,000 album-equivalent units and 128,000 in pure sales, making Niall Horan the third One Direction member to achieve a solo US number-one album—matching the Beatles' record for most members with that feat. He also became the group's third to lead the Canadian Albums Chart, debuting at number one with over 16,000 consumption units.