Louis Tomlinson - “Faith in the Future” Album Review

Story posted November 18, 2022 in Arts & Entertainment by Savannah Swartz.

Louis Tomlinson released an album and then immediately broke his arm? Yep.

The ex-One Direction member has had a successful solo career since the band separated in 2010, with his last album “Walls” being released in 2020. This is Tomlinson’s first music release in two years, and the artist seems to be going in a new direction (pun intended).

The album “Faith in the Future” features a new style for Tomlinson. He announced the album on his social media along with three singles released leading up to the album dropping. While Tomlinson’s sound might be new, his lyrical genius still remains the same.

He tosses some heart wrenching lyrics in some of the most up beat songs, which really throws listeners for a loop.

The first song on the album is “The Greatest” which was a great start to the album. It starts with a big guitar and drum introduction which was the first taste of this new side of Tomlinson.

Before the album “Bigger Than Me” was the first single he released, and it raised attention and was exciting as the first piece of music he has released in a while, but after listening to the rest of the album this song was on the weaker side.

There were other songs on the album that could have made better singles, however the following singles were bangers.

The second single was “Out Of My System” which swayed away from the pop genre and leaned more into a lowkey punk rock vibe. This song starts with a guitar solo that appears throughout the song, along with heavy drums throughout the whole thing.

Tomlinson released the final single only a few days before the album dropped. “Silver Tongues” starts out slow, and then picks up during the chorus. This song leans towards more of a pop vibe.

It is clear Tomlinson knows many of his longtime fans have been following him since his One Direction days, but those fans are older now and so is Tomlinson. As a result, his music is becoming more mature.

There are still a few songs that still give the impression that they could be sung by a boy band, one of those including Silver Tongues.

It’s speculated that many of the songs are about Tomlinson’s longtime girlfriend Eleanor Calder, but some of them give the impression they might be about another past love interest.

This past love interest could potentially be ex-bandmate, Harry Styles. There have been several fan theories over the years that the two were involved. A few of Tomlinson’s lyrics make nods to some of the pop star's most recent songs.

In the song “Lucky Again” the lyric “There selling tickets at the cinema” could be a nod to Styles’ song “Cinema.”

The songs, all in all, work well together. It’s impressive the way that Tomlinson incorporates his old style and his new one together throughout the album. This album could potentially be a bridge to distance himself from pop music.

After releasing the album, Tomlinson performed a show in New York City and fell off the stage breaking his arm. The singer posted a brief message about the incident and a photo of his x-ray on his social media.

Overall, each of the 16 songs adds its own personality to the album.

The downfall of so many songs is that some of them start to run together by sounding very similar instrumentally, but the more the album is listened to the more distinguishable the tracks become.

This album is a mood-booster, for sure. While there are some slower songs and lyrics that are beautiful and heartbreaking this album is for the most part a fun listen.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewer’s Favorite Song(s): "Angels Fly," "Common People," "Chicago"
Reviewer’s Least Favorite Song(s): "Bigger Than Me"


Savannah Swartz is a second-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email sms9072@psu.edu.