#spectrum pulse

Am I the only one genuinely surprised and a little impressed by Niall's move with Nice To Meet Ya? A pivot from a blatant Fleetwood Mac throwback to late 90s dance-rock should provoke whiplash, but it's striking how well Niall sticks the landing - the minor key piano line riding the firm bass groove into the blown-out storm of guitars that still sounds well-balanced and produced, it's inspired comparisons to U2's 90s run, although what it reminds me more with the effortless vocal charisma and traces of elegance is someone like Robbie Williams. Hell, it might even be better given how much Niall doesn't oversell this song, trying to lean into the hope of preserving some connection with this girl before she takes off after the night, and he's suave enough to pull that off. Of course, the big question is whether this'll actually last, given the throwback is to a sound of the late 90s that I actually haven't seen much attention given - I'd say the closest parallel to this era is The 1975's People and even that's playing to a very different vibe in retro dance rock - but I kind of hope it does, because it kicks ass! Great song.