Having recently expressed his excitement to explore a solo career, former boy band member Liam Payne set high expectations for his debut album “LP1.” Unfortunately, conversation buzzing around its release has led to one conclusion: we liked him better in One Direction. 

With 17 tracks and multiple featured artists, Payne’s music lacks distinction and character, making it sound like a washed-out combination of Justin Bieber and Louis the Child. He neglects to use his own voice, which arguably should have been one of his strongest assets. This is evident in his low level of involvement in the making of “LP1.”

“For a first album, Payne surprisingly doesn’t show up: He had a hand co-writing only four songs and fails to do anything interesting with his voice,” Mark Kennedy from the Columbus Dispatch writes. 

Apart from the album as a whole not having many stand-out qualities, each track blends into the next one. They also seem to be conveying the same kind of message, which begs the question: what is Payne trying to prove? 

White Station student Tayler Cole (12), who has followed the solo careers of all former members of One Direction, expresses her lack of excitement over Payne’s album. 

“Even though he had features like Quavo and Rita Ora, I feel like he really missed the mark on the album, and I’m not sure he could’ve done any better. He should’ve left it at “Strip that Down” and went on his way,” Cole said.