Even though Niall Horan's debut album Flicker got two stars here upon its release in 2017, there's a lot to be said for a star's talent growing over time so what Flicker lacked then, it has gained here.
Joined by RTÉ's concert orchestra, who have been having quite the run collaborating with DJ Jenny Greene playing all of the 1990s dance hits and working with Irish rap and R&B artists for the History of Hip-Hop, Horan's Flicker gets the string treatment and it makes it a hell of a lot better than the original.
Cleared of overproduction and an overly soft rock touch, the Mullingar boyo’s voice is more confident and it takes the leads as the orchestra complements his songs, giving their simplicity more depth.
The forlorn love song This Town gets added emotion, Too Much Too Ask becomes more dramatic and Fire Away is softened.
Running tightly packed at just nine songs, the big glaring omission is a sexed up and stringed out version of Slow Hands, his highest charting single since going solo from One Direction, and his latest single On The Loose.
But, look, we can’t have it all, can we?
