Following the release of his EP last month, Liam Payne has shared an official music video for his single, “First Time.” One Direction’s music videos were known for being gimmicky and over-the-top (never forget that one time Liam wore a headband and played a choreographer). But Payne has been taking a more subdued approach to the visuals for his solo music.
In the “First Time” video, Payne finds a girl with a mini bun and cat t-shirt in a dark, twinkle-lit room. It’s the best use of string lights since season 1 of Stranger Things, though thankfully no one is transported to the Upside Down here. Payne wanders around the subway station, focuses for a minute on a man performing on the platform, then ends up back above ground and singing to the quiet, rainy city.
French Montana, who is also featured on the song, picks Payne up in his car. (If the video takes place in New York, as I suspect it does, this is where he loses me. Only the former boy-banders among us are lucky enough to have friends with cars in New York City.) The duo stumble across some kids dancing in the water of a fire hydrant, and Payne ends his night by reuniting with the girl at the beginning of the video. It’s an effective portrait of a meandering night in the city, wandering and letting the moonlight take you where it will.
Watch the video for “First Time” above.
