Louis Tomlinson Sounds Like The Britpop Star He Was Born To Be On 'Kill My Mind'

Louis Tomlinson is back, and he's more confident than ever.


Two years back, the former One Direction member started a solo career in earnest, launching the electro-tinged "Back to You," the Steve Aoki collab "Just Hold On," and the guitar-crunching "Miss You." Yet a number of personalized tragedies and then some self-reflective alone time caused him to re-evaluate his approach, something he shared in a forthright note posted to social media earlier this year.


"My expectations and aspirations are all shaped around my experiences," he wrote. "As much as I attempt to stay realistic I couldn't help nevertheless crave a 'hit' single. It's because of this that I've spent so long on this album, attempting to fit into Top 40 radio any time case in point maybe I should begin with what I love and work from there."


His new single "Kill My Mind," which dropped on Thursday (September 5), sounds like Louis making the pop ecosystem work for him – not in reverse around. By filtering the Northern English music he grew up loving (Oasis, Arctic Monkeys) through a slicker pop lens, Louis sounds bigger, more stadium-ready, and more like himself than he ever has.


"Kill My Mind" starts with a playful beginning line that feels like a declaration: "You're a nightmare on the dance floor so you hate me and I want more." Tomlinson only dials up the energy from then on, bringing in knocking drums, guitar layers, and chimes that recall the sugariest moments of The Stone Roses's seminal 1989 debut — or at least the Britpop onslaught of the '90s and early 2000s that sprung up in its wake.


Louis's re-arrival signals that his debut album is imminent, according to a statement. 2019 also saw Louis release the gentle, powerful ballad "Two of Us," a sweet ode to his late mother that serves as his album's first single.


"Everything I've ever known in my career has been straight down the middle pop," he wrote in that same note back in April. Listen to "Kill My Mind" — co-written by Louis and Jamie Hartman — above listen to what happened as soon as Louis followed his impulses and veered into more dynamic territory.