LOUIS TOMLINSON
Releases Debut Album
WALLS
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TOURING AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020
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Ask Louis Tomlinson to name his favourite song on WALLS and he’ll change his mind several times. It could be the title track, on which he shares co-writing credits with an idol. Or irresistible current single ‘Don’t Let It Break Your Heart’, which boasts his most addictive chorus to date.
Lyrically, he’s rightly proud of all twelve tracks, most rooted in real life, but in particular those that dig deep on subjects ranging from relationships and family to the folly of youth and days of self-doubt. Live, he’s most looking forward to performing the songs that reflect the indie-rock he grew up on and still adores today.
In fact, it scarcely matters which songs Louis likes best because his fans are about to get the chance to choose for themselves. After two years spent honing his sound and sharpening his skills as a heart-on-sleeve songwriter, the 27 year old simply can’t wait to release his debut album and take it on tour.
“I feel like this is the start of my career, with so much to look forward to and all the plans in place,” says Louis. “Honestly, I’ve been through every emotion possible in the past few years and come out the other side stronger and more confident than I’ve ever been.
“I know I’ve made an album that my fans will like, one that sounds like me and has its own identity. There were times I wasn’t sure if this was what I should be doing. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
2019 was the year that Louis found his feet as a solo artist. He followed his award-winning return in March with ‘Two of Us’, which took the tragic loss of his mother as a touchstone and connected with fans around the world, with a run of acclaimed singles – the raucous ‘Kill My Mind’, the reflective ‘We Made It’ and the soaring pop perfection of ‘Don’t Let It Break Your Heart’. 2020 is the year that Louis goes live with a 50 date World Tour, his first as a solo artist, with many dates already sold out including all the UK shows. A recent date in Madrid was his first full gig since the demise of One Direction. From early March until late July, he’ll be on tour near nightly, crossing countries and continents with WALLS, and will be in Australia this April.
“I don’t have long to get fit,” laughs Louis. “Seriously, I played football on a shoot the other day and ten minutes in I was wheezing. Don’t worry, I have plenty people telling me to get to the gym. That’s the only bit I’m dreading.”
WALLS’ collaborators include the L.A.-based Brit Jamie Hartman (Rag’n’Bone Man, James Bay) and Jamie Scott (One Direction, Bieber) If WALLS recalls classic, ‘90s Oasis, it’s because Louis still listens to those early albums. “It really hit home when I was in the studio to hear the strings being recorded. There must have been 25 musicians in there, all for my song. It was a proper tear-jerking moment already and I’ve never felt a shiver like it.”
Fans will find plenty to tingle their spines on 12 songs that lyrically hark as far back as Louis’ 1Ddays, recall relationship ups and downs and relate the life lessons learnt on the way to 27.
The fabulous ‘Habit’ is a message to fans and a reflection on fame steeped in gorgeous electric guitar, with a reference to Princess Park for 1D devotees.
“There was a time I felt like I was treading water with my career,” says Louis. “I wasn’t sure if I 100% wanted to carry on. It was frustrating and, of course, fame can feel intrusive when you’re unsure of yourself, but I tried to imagine myself not doing this job, not having the support of the fans and I couldn’t.
“Music is the habit that I keep coming back to. Forget feeling sorry for myself. Habit is a thank you to fans and a reminder to me to be grateful for being given this position.”
While ‘We Made It’ recalled Louis’ pre-fame days, hanging out with his girlfriend Eleanor in her student halls and their teen dreams for the future, both title track ‘Walls’ and the acoustic ‘Too Young’ recount the break-ups that ultimately made the pair’s relationship stronger.
“’Too Young’ is about meeting ‘the one’ aged 18 and, like a lot of blokes that age, not being equipped for it,” says Louis. “I found it hard to look that far ahead. I had to make a few mistakes and go down the wrong path to realise what I had and what I thought I’d lost.
“’Walls’ is more specific. It’s about coming home having been on tour, soon after we’d split. I found some of my girlfriend’s clothes in the cupboard and it hit me what I’d done. I love the indie sound of the song and its circular nature – it opens and closes with the same lyric.”
That lyric – ‘Nothing wakes you up like waking up alone’ – is among several on WALLS that shows Louis’ progression as a songwriter ready to reveal his vulnerable side. ‘The day you walked away was the day I became the man that I am now,’ is another.
“I pretend not to be romantic, but I am,” says Louis. “Two years ago, I couldn’t have written those lyrics. I would have felt too exposed. But that’s age for you, I suppose. It sounds daft because 27 isn’t old, but I think about ageing a lot these days.”
On ‘Fearless’, which opens and closes with children’s voices, Louis looks back at the peers he grew up with and ponders what ageing means. “I’m at this crossroads age where I look at people from past and they seem so grown up to me now,” he says. “I won’t call them boring, but I do think people could take life less seriously. Have more fun while we’re still young because it doesn’t last.”
The oldest song on WALLS is ‘Almost You’, the most recently recorded the album’s beautiful, stripped-back closer ‘Only the Brave’, which clocks in at a mere 1.44 minutes.
“The reason ‘Always You’ stayed is that I teased 15 seconds of it on one of my socials years back and, ever since, the fans have been desperate to hear it,” says Louis. “I owed them that one.”
“’Only The Brave’ I think may have been written for Liam Gallagher. It’s the one song I didn’t write much on. It was played to me and I instantly adored it. There was talk of making it longer, but what’s great is that it’s so short, yet gets its message across so clearly.
“Plus, it’s the twelfth song. That’s more than enough of me in one sitting.”
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LOUIS TOMLINSON
WALLS WORLD TOUR 2020 –
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND DATES
TICKETS and INFO
23.04 SHED 10, AUCKLAND
25.04 BIG TOP, SYDNEY
27.04 PALAIS THEATRE, MELBOURNE
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