I think Walls did pretty well. Not sure if in the indie rock scene but certainly it made good sales. Streaming wise it has hit over 500 million streams now and in the US it got to number 9 in the Billboard 200 which is quite remarkable really. First new album for Arista Records to hit the top 10 in over 9 years. In the UK it landed got to number 4 in the album charts. I think it was the bestselling debut album of 2020. All pretty good going.
I think it is very hard to go from being in a hugely successful global boyband to a credible indie rocker just like that - if indeed that is what he is aiming for. No one into indie music is going to think, oh yeah, Louis Tomlinson is my kind of thing. I think it will take time to make people see he can write a really decent song and is influenced by that sound. I was impressed with Walls. Put off listening to it for ages as I am a judgemental so and so and thought I wouldn't like it. Turns out, it is pretty good. He is only going to be able to convince people if he continues to write and record good solid songs. So far so good in my opinion, I can't wait to hear his next album.