Niall Horan seemingly marches to the beat of his own drum — or guitar — based on what he did after One Direction split up.
"When the band was finished, I just kind of picked up the guitar and do what I think I naturally do best, which is acoustic guitar, or simple piano, and just started doing that kind of thing," he told Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe.
Niall released his debut album, Flicker, in 2017 — about two years after the band members went their separate ways. It contained the hits "This Town," "Too Much to Ask," "On the Loose" and "Slow Hands."
He then released Heartbreak Weather in 2020, saying it "built up a little bit more" from his first effort. He says his upcoming work, The Show, expands on his debut album "but with a bigger sound."
"The way I've written the songs is gone back to basics, and the four chords and the finger picking, and the simple piano, right-handed playing, which makes for good melody," Niall described. "And then, it was about getting the right type of production on it, to make it small and big at the same time, if you know what I mean. Back to sounds."
Niall also said he took his time with this new effort and allowed himself to rest — because the pandemic allowed him to. "For the last 12 years, I've never had time off," he said.
"I kind of just sat around, like everyone else did. And then, when I felt fit ... I just started writing at home, not leaving the living room, with the piano and acoustic guitar. Wrote the first song, and it was decent. And I was like, 'All right, maybe this is how we kickstart,'" he said.
The Show arrives June 9.