Intermission: An Announcement

Gather round, there's something we need to tell you. And it's not just that Louis Tomlinson has released a really good single with Bebe Rexha. Seriously, Back to You is all sneaking charm. It has such a beautiful slow churn. No chorus, just the same four chords round and round and an atmosphere of anguished excitement, as if sung by someone who has decided the person who most annoys them in the world might also just be their best bet for a happy life. Bebe Rexha is the true star of proceedings, but Louis is a more than able foil for her. It's a wonderfully measured song that is beautifully understated, particularly in the bridges (even the swearing seems oddly measured, rather than brattish showing off), and the minimal atmosphere is further proof that pop needs more songs like Bad Liar. And it’s got those weird 1D yelps that also appear in Niall Horan’s Slow Hands. I wonder if it was conceived after Harry’s album came out, as there’s a kind of mature pop properness to the chords it that seems to be pitched midway between Harry and Niall. Anyway the thing we need to talk about is not that. It's something else.