On his debut album, Tom Walker takes on a very "faux-deep" pop sound that's as bland to me now as it was when it first started in the early 2000's. Topics covered are not very broad, mostly talking about relationship issues, with one song being reserved for talking about a friend of Tom's struggling with drug abuse. This album has the soundscape and lyrics of an Imagine Dragons album, except with a slightly better singer.
The album's second song "Leave a Light On" is the aforementioned song speaking about a friend's substance abuse. I personally think this is song is fine, but I can tell you that it's probably not going to be something I'll remember next week. With it's very radio friendly sound, I'm not surprised that this song made waves on numerous charts around the world.
Many other songs on the album speak about Toms's relationships struggles, such as the back-to-back songs "How Can You Sleep at Night?" and "Now You're Gone." The lyrics on this album, while already very corny, take a big nosedive on this song. With corny lyrics such as:
I said I'm done with you
But I can't help it when I lay down, still think of you
Keeps me awake at night and
Why do I let it get so far?
How do we end with broken hearts?
How do we end with broken hearts, broken hearts?
I already can't take Tom's messages to heart, with the majority of his songs being about break-ups, but throw in some really wretched lyrics, and I am even further from actually feeling anything about this album, except pure boredom. Even the song titles are bland as hell, "Cry Out," "Angels," "Not Giving In" are just some prime examples of really cliche song titles present in this album.
The song "Dominoes" is a call to society to admit faults and improve them by letting the "dominoes fall." (very clever title there Tom /s) The song also speaks about how media only shows the negative parts of society, and that there is "still so much love on this planet." I can't get behind this song as it takes on this very anthemic style that feels so over the top and nonsensical, to the point that any part of this song that I may have enjoyed if it was more subtle, becomes instantly unlistenable.
This album is full of chart toppers that have very little soul, emotion, or personality. The album attempts to mask the soullessness with some overdramatic violins and strings that just scream "FEEL SOMETHING!" at the audience. Instead of working, it has the inverse result of making this album feel less important. The singer has the personality of a brick wall and has very few unique lyrics to help make this album feel more personal. It's a shame, cause I actually like how he sounds, and wish he was a better writer.
Unfortunately, we are instead stuck with this bland piece of pop trash that will probably be forgotten pretty quickly.
