A Track By Track Review of Louis Tomlinson’s Debut Album ‘Walls’

Posted On April 26, 2020

Samantha Colleran, April 2020

The final member of One Direction to release a debut album, Louis Tomlinson’s Walls dropped on January 31 of this year. Straying away from the EDM route he originally sought out with singles ‘Just Hold On’ with Steve Aoki and ‘Back To You’ featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals, Tomlinson takes on a new sound and cites the likes of British rockers Oasis and Arctic Monkeys as inspirations in terms of sound and honest writing style. Walls earned Louis’ record label, Arista, their first Billboard Top 10 debut in close to nine years, according to Billboard. Below is a track by track review of all twelve songs on Walls, as well as my top three songs. 

1. Kill My Mind

The opening track to Walls sees Louis in a new musical light. He takes on an Oasis inspired sound full of Brit-pop guitar riffs and a pulsing bass drum that fills you with energy. It’s one of the songs Tomlinson is most proud of on the album, and rightfully so. It’s certainly a standout moment and a great way to introduce his listeners, both old and new, to the sound he wants to make. “You kill my mind/ Raise my body back to life/ And I don’t know what I’d do without you now,” Louis sings in the chorus. This song is certainly a crowd pleaser and gets people on their feet. 

2. Don’t Let It Break Your Heart

If you could wrap the feeling of hope and trekking on when life gets too hard into a three and a half minute song, you would be left with “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart”. The song is one with lyrics that inspire people to never give up, a recurring theme throughout Tomlinson’s work. “Don’t you let it kill you/ Even when it hurts like Hell/ Oh, whatever tears you apart/ Don’t let it break your heart” Louis sings in a cheerful chorus. The song makes you want to push on, whether you’re at the highest high in life or the lowest of lows. It’s a positive anthem and a positive message to send out into the world, especially during hard times. 

3. Two of Us

On this track dedicated to his late mother Johannah Deakin, who sadly passed away in December 2016 from Leukemia, we see Tomlinson in an emotional light. It’s not often he outwardly addresses the emotions he felt losing his mother, but with “Two of Us”, Louis shows his audience that pain can be turned into something beautiful. He has stated on multiple occasions that it was always his mother who he looked to for advice and comfort, and that losing her made him want to quit music but she told him to keep on going. “It’s been a minute since I called you/ Just to hear the answer phone/ Yeah I know you won’t get this/ But I’ll leave a message so I’m not alone,” Louis opens the song with these chilling lyrics that set the audience up for the rest of the powerful ballad. Although it’s a sad subject matter, Louis has said that he hopes the song fills people with hope. In a Newsbeat interview, Louis said “I don’t want people to get caught up in the sadness of it… The song should be hopeful”. A number of fans have shared their stories about grief and loss with Louis since the song has been released, proving that music is one of the healing powers of the world and brings people together during rough times.

4. We Made It

One of the more lighthearted songs on the album, Louis walks us through the feelings of young love and finding success in the world. Meeting on doorsteps, late nights talking about hopes and dreams, showing what it’s like to be a kid and feeling like the world is against you, “We Made It” hits all of these points. “We were only kids just tryna work it out/ Wonder what they’d think if they could see us now”. It’s a triumphant song, Louis is looking back on the good times and the bad times and realizing that he’s risen above it all, and he’s never coming down as long as his hand is in his lover’s. 

5. Too Young

“Oh, I can’t believe I gave into the pressure/ When they said a love like this would never last/ So I cut you off ‘cause I didn’t know no better,” Louis sings softly over an acoustic guitar. “Too Young” is a reflective song about losing a love that could have been ‘the one’. It deals with the realization that they “had everything” as a couple, and Louis apologizes for hurting the one he loves so dearly. We hear Louis sing about meeting with this person to “have that conversation/ That I wish we could have had before”. There’s a hint of regret in the bridge, Louis admitting that it’s been a while since he’s seen this person and wanting to be honest about his feelings before the moment is gone. The background music is kept simple to allow the listener to focus on the honest lyrics. 

6. Walls

The final single release before the album came out, “Walls” opens with the line “Nothing wakes you up like waking up alone,” immediately setting the audience up to feel a slew of emotion. A guitar heavy track accompanied by an orchestra, Louis talks about overcoming hardships and standing taller than the ‘walls’ that tried to block him on his path to success. Speaking about the song to Apple Music, Louis said that it was a breakout moment for him when making the album, “…there’s been times on this album where I’ve been pretty frustrated and it’s been hard to keep with the get-up-and-go because the creative process can get frustrating. But I had this moment, in this massive, amazing studio in London called Angel Studios… 15, 18 people there for my song…”. The lyrics are honest, and the line “For every question why, you were my because” has become a fan favorite. (Louis basks in this feeling, during a couple of performances he did earlier this year as well as two shows in the beginning of his now rescheduled tour, Louis listens to the fans scream this lyric at him, and it’s one of the most heartwarming sounds you will ever hear).

7. Habit

“Habit” feels like an Avril Lavigne 2000s pop rock inspired song, and it’s everything. Singing about a love he can’t leave or give up on no matter what, “Habit” is one of the most lyrically interesting and honest songs on Walls. Louis teased the lyric “I took some time ‘cause I ran out of energy/ Of playing someone I heard I’m supposed to be” in a tweet in 2018, and since then his fans have been eager to hear the entire song. This lyric in particular is a standout, and it’s one of the more vulnerable moments on the album. A reference to an old home, Princess Park, where he lived with One Direction in 2012 was an Easter egg fans were also excited to hear. To me, it’s one of those songs you can imagine yourself driving on an empty highway to while thinking about life. It’s one of the highlights of the album vocally, instrumentally, and especially lyrically. 

8. Always You

After teasing this song a few years back on his Instagram story, Louis finally released this upbeat track, saying he kept it on the album just for fans, and they were more than happy to hear the completed project. In this song, Tomlinson sings about going to “so many places/ looking for you in the faces,” telling his lover that he wasted his time looking for someone or something new when it was “always you”. The vocals on this track seem simple at first, but there’s a moment in the chorus as Louis sings “Chasing the high but it was always you” where his voice goes slightly higher and becomes a bit gravely, adding an interesting and surprising twist to his listener’s ear. It’s one of the catchiest, most fun songs on the album, and certainly will be a highlight when performed on tour. 

9. Fearless

“Tell me do you still remember feeling young/ And strong enough to get it wrong in front of all these people?” In “Fearless”, Louis asks his listeners to reflect on a time where they were younger and didn’t live their lives measuring happiness in terms of riches and success (“You should feel better than ever/ But you know as well as I, it’s all lies” Tomlinson sings in the second verse). Speaking about the song with Apple Music, Louis said that the song feels like “a playground or going back to real youth”, he wanted to capture the importance of being young in a song, which he did successfully. 

10. Perfect Now

What feels like a continuation of One Direction’s “Little Things” lyrically, “Perfect Now” is one of the sweeter songs on the album. Some of the lyrics are a bit cheesy (“I guess some queens don’t need a crown”), but the song is still super adorable nonetheless. Tomlinson encourages his listeners to “Keep your head up, love, keep your head up” and assures them that “Even when your tears are fallin’ down/ Still, somehow, you’re perfect now”. In the final chorus, around 2 minutes and 40 seconds, there’s a really great vocal trick where Louis’ voice gets a bit gravely when he sings the words “My, oh my” and it adds something new and exciting to such a simple song. 

11. Defenceless

Continuing with themes of vulnerability and an avoidance of communication and confrontation with his partner, “Defenceless” sees Louis in yet again, a vulnerable state. The song is lyrically impressive, with lines such as “We’re sleeping on our problems like we’ll solve them in our dreams/ We wake up early morning and they’re still under the sheets” and “And I can’t get inside when you’re lost in your pride/ But you don’t have a thing to prove” we can hear Louis’ worries about his relationship failing, as well as his desire to better understand the one he loves. Tomlinson’s voice is exceptional in this song, during the bridge his voice gets higher and we hear him hit these gorgeous high notes when he sings the lines “And I’m too tired to be tough/ Just wanna be loved by you”.  

12. Only the Brave

The closing track to Walls clocks in at just under two minutes and was originally written for Liam Gallagher of Oasis, according to an interview Louis did with Crash Records. Upon hearing the demo, Louis fell in love with the song and he managed to get the track for himself. He wasn’t originally credited as writer on the song when it was registered on ASCAP (he was only listed as a performer) but with the final release it was revealed he did end up having a hand in altering or writing lyrics. A crackling guitar and echoey vocal number with lyrics such as “Pour mercy, mercy on me/ Set fire to history” and “It’s a church of burnt romances/ And I’m too far gone to pray,” “Only The Brave” proves that a short song can leave a lasting effect. When the final note fades out, you’re left wanting more, but at the same time you wonder what more could be done to make this great song better. It’s an excellent note to end the album on; a reflective and simple song with powerful lyrics and an honest message, that “love is only for the brave”, as Louis said in the closing video to a mini track by track series posted on his YouTube page. 

My Top Songs

1. Always You: The perfect summer song with interesting note changes, definitely worth the nearly three year wait!

2. Only The Brave: An album closer that leaves you craving more, simple instrumentation and vocals that pack a powerful punch. 

3. Habit: Honest lyrics with a 2000s pop rock feel, which adds a bit of a nostalgia factor to the raw lyrical content. 

Walls can be streamed on Apple Music and Spotify.