I’m a huge Harry Styles fan. So when I got out of class on Jan. 15 and opened the Instagram notification announcing Styles’ latest post, I was ecstatic.
Then, a week later, I waited until midnight to hear the first single, “Aperture.” And I’m very happy to say, I was not disappointed. On Mar. 6, when I heard the full album for the first time, I only got more excited. Well done, Harry!
“Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally,” is unlike any of Styles’ previous work. It’s moodier, but also more unique and enticing — not that it wasn’t before. “Aperture,” which is not only the first single but also the song to start off the album, starts off slow but picks up at the end. I think it was a really great way to introduce the album because, like “Aperture,” Style’s discography gets progressively more experimental and pleasing as you go on.
My personal favorite is Styles’ first solo album, simply self-titled “Harry Styles,” released a year after One Direction met its demise of a hiatus in 2017. But as Styles himself has said in interviews, especially during the present dance era, it’s what you would expect from Styles’ coming straight out of his boy band days. His second album, “Fine Line” was engrossing, it was consistent with late 2010s-era cheery pop hits, but it also threw in some of Styles’ personality. It was colorful, fun, fruit-themed and perfect for summer (even though it came out in the middle of winter).
“Harry’s House” kept going with “Fine Line’s” summerish mood. And in a lot of ways, it wasn’t so divergent from what he had done with the last album, a sort-of continuation of the last era.
But “Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally,” is a turn away from Italian summer days and songs named after tropical fruits: the sun has set, and now we’re in the midst of Berlin’s nightlife scene, and just like the title suggests, we’re dancing sometimes and feeling romantic at other times.
“American Girls” is the first song on the album that we haven’t heard before March 6th. It’s also the second single, a well picked one. And it’s one of my favorites on the album. It has a “The 1975” feel to it. It’s dancey and fun, but it has a sense of emotionality. Styles battles with the feeling of watching close friends settle down and start to form their new settled lives, while he yearns for the same fulfilling and fruitful relationship of his own. It’s great, and a lot of people like it, which makes it a good single. I also feel as though it will age really well. It has a theme that a lot of people can relate to, especially the people who grew up listening to One Direction and Harry Styles since the beginning, finding their way to their late 20s now. But the general public, too, can relate to this feeling. The production is timeless, and the song has an easy-listening stamp on it.
“Ready, Steady, Go!” is smooth. The beat is very defined like the vocals. The guitar during the lines right before the chorus is very nice, but I don’t really feel like it goes with the song all that well. The chorus is probably my favorite part of the song, but it’s not anything extraordinary, nor do I think I’ll be coming back to it as nearly as much as I will be to other songs on the album. What I will say is that I like the song much better in its live-in-concert version. When I watched the documentary/concert film on Netflix, “Harry Styles. One Night In Manchester,” I loved the way Styles’ living and breathing vocals sounded with the song, in the midst of an energetic concert. For me, it worked much better that way.
I think this is interesting because of Styles’ vocalized love for live music. In his interview with Zane Lowe, released two days before the album’s release, Styles defined his relationship with live music. He asked himself, “what music do I have to make for me to want to dance on stage too?”, and based on Styles’ attitude throughout all of his live performances of the album thus far, all I can say is he looks like he is having tons of fun. Playing multiple instruments on stage, dancing, smiling, running around. And sure, yes, he was doing that before. But this album has brought it to a whole new level of excitement, and that excitement carries on to the crowd. In a BBC Radio interview, Styles compared his experience in the crowded streets of Rome filled with people excited to see the new Pope Leo XIV during May of last year (where he was photographed in the crowd) to any other gathering of people sharing passionate, emotional feelings and experiences. He sees a concert as no different, it’s a binding communal experience, which is a beautiful way of looking at it.
The next song starts out sort of intense, fitting for the title, “Are You Listening Yet?” The chorus has a nice drumline in the back of it, and Styles’ speaking opposed to singing in the verses and bridge contrasts curiously with the chorus. I like the short guitar solo too, it sounds very clean. The cascading “la”s are satisfying to the ear. For a song about listening to one’s inner monologue and ideas, it has a lot of outer appeal.
“Taste Back” is as wonderful as it gets. It’s my favorite song on the album. The notes in the very beginning, surfacing into the song, are magical. Then, the heavier notes on top are perfect. I really like the electronic sound. It gives me a nostalgic feeling, and it sort of reminds me of One Direction in their “FOUR” phase. Since it came out, I’ve listened to it every single time I’ve been in the car. Which is a good thing, because like I said with “American Girls,” it’s a sound I think will age well, and if I’m coming back to it so frequently already, I’m sure a lot of other people are too. A song about reflecting on a relationship of the past has a tendency to be depressive or overly gloomy. Yet, Styles manages to give “Taste Back” a “how have you been?” tone, instead of a “can we try again, I’m sad” tone. It’s nostalgic but not melancholy.
Continuing with the reflectionary tone, “The Waiting Game” moves to a form of self observation. It’s a brutal version of Styles’ perception of his own life. It touches on the famous and personal, internal, ins and outs of his life. To me, conflictingly, the background instrumental sounds romantic. With horns, a cascading keyboard, and a dreamy guitar, it differentiates between Styles’ almost solemn and even bored vocals and lyrics. This is another one that I like better live, and mostly because I can get a feel for Styles’ emotions more clearly in the live version. The studio version, and mostly the song to me, sounds bland. It sounds like a personal song to Styles and that I can respect.
“Season 2 Weight Loss” is another personal favorite. Interpreted as a metaphor for personal improvement, it branches off the last song theme wise. I adore the way that this song sounds. The electronic beginning is so pretty. The way that the song cascades up and down is very interesting and fascinating to listen to. The stacked vocals sound so good in the chorus. I love the way that producer Kid Harpoon and Styles utilize choir vocals throughout this album. And to me, this song is the best example of that.
“Coming Up Roses” is the signature emotional ballad within the record. The strings are gorgeous, and they fit very well with Styles’ gentle voice.
“Pop” is loud, and dancey. I like the way Styles stylizes his vocals throughout this song, lowering his voice on certain words like “together” in the verse, and heightening it during the chorus on words like “pop.” This song, though, feels very uninteresting to me. It sounds like anything you could turn on the radio and hear.
“Dance No More” is groovy! The background vocals repeating the line “DJs don’t dance no more” are so pleasing, and it gives it an engaging way to be performed live as a call-and-reply. The instrumental is so much fun, and I could see people dancing to this song for sure.
“Paint By Numbers” breaks away from the cheerful mood of the last track and returns to a more ceremonious feeling. Similar to “The Waiting Game” it reflects on Styles’ personal reflection of himself, but this time, how that compares to the public’s perception of him. The song, sonically, is smooth, like drawing a straight line on a never-ending piece of paper.
“Carla’s Song” is a fantastic way to end the record. It is calm, but exhilarating at the same time. The way Styles’ holds the note on the word “heavenly” in the first verse, the notes after the word tide when the verse starts to lead to the chorus, and the repeating echoed lyrics at the tailend of the track makes the song sound ethereal. Like “Aperture” it starts off slow and gets faster as it goes on. The album ends like it begins.
In the Netflix concert movie, he points out his friend Carla in the crowd, who “Carla’s Song” is about. He talks about her discovering music in a new way, and how that second-hand experience changed his perspective on music once again, and reminded him why he wanted to be involved in music in the first place—then, that experience inspired, “Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally.”
In every chord, lyric, and live performance of this album, you can feel the spark come alive in Styles once again. It’s passionate, emotional, nearly spiritual. You can tell that this album is personal to Styles, and that he’s very proud of it.
It’s not for everyone, and he admits that, but he’s done something that he’s proud of. As a long-time fan who got bored after “Fine Line” with “Harry’s House,” this album to me is the return—or the reveal—of a Harry that we have not seen in a very long time, or maybe ever.
I can’t wait to see what comes from this album. This album will be known in Style’s discography as a turning point. More performances, outfits, interviews, and appearances are yet to come. In the meantime, we can only hope for a worldwide tour.
