Louis Tomlinson - Faith In The Future

Finding your voice as an artist is no easy feat. Finding it anew after half a decade spent establishing yourself as something else might be even harder.

After distancing himself from the pop-centric output of One Direction and the dancier sound of his early singles to make his debut album following in the footsteps of the indie-rock he grew up listening to, with his second record Louis Tomlinson has scrapped his self-imposed restraints and he's never sounded more comfortable in his own skin.

'Faith In The Future' is an album with arena-sized energy in its bloodstream. Both larger than life and more intimate than ever, this is how he was meant to be heard. If 'Walls' was Louis defining who he wants to be, 'Faith In The Future' is him refusing to pin himself down.

Whether he's rallying through the euphoria of staying up and staying out on 'Silver Tongues' or finding a sense of post-heartache peace on 'Saturdays', Louis is at his best when he goes all out. The most immediate example of this is album stand-out and certified banger, 'Written All Over Your Face'. Purpose-built for throwing shapes under dance-floor strobe lights, the track is an indie disco anthem that comes complete with its own battle cry.

Bigger and bolder in scope though the album is (did we mention there's a string section involved? – Ed), his lyrics remain characteristically grounded. The songs resound with the same kind of warmth and sincerity that you find when you're a couple of drinks in with good friends at the pub. Heading out to "grab some food then meet the lads for one" on 'Lucky Again', or recalling the "house full of terraced dreams" he grew up in on 'Common People', there's a sense of familiarity to his words that makes them almost instinctively relatable.

He's pretty adept at tugging on the heartstrings too. With its steadfast reassurance that "you'll be okay, we can talk tomorrow," for those times when conversation might feel too heavy, 'Angels Fly' is almost certain to become a fan favourite. Closing number 'That's The Way Love Goes' takes a different approach to a similar sense of reassurance. Complete with earnest advice, heartfelt support, and a shameless comment to lighten the load, the track feels so much like a conversation with a close friend it's impossible not to feel endeared.

Eclectic, electric, and always energetic, 'Faith In The Future' is an album crafted for the stage, a collection of songs purpose-made for pints-in-the-air, arms-around-shoulders, voices-to-the-rafters sing-alongs. But more than that, it's an album made for the nighttime, a soundtrack to losing and finding yourself in the dark, the people you meet and the adventures that happen along the way.