Harry Styles returned to music on March 6, with his fourth solo-studio album. His first record release in four years, “Kiss all the Time, Disco Occasionally” is a 12-track album with a 42 minute runtime.
My place as a Harry Styles fan differs on a song-to-song basis. I don’t automatically love or hate any of his songs. Songs like “Keep Driving,” “Two Ghosts” and “Adore You” have been on repeat for years, but some songs I never listen to again.
This personal trend continued with this album. Although it’s sonically cohesive, only a few truly scratch the same itch in my brain that those previous favorites do.
I understand his artistry from an outside perspective, but when I listen to his music, I don’t entirely get it. You either do or you don’t.
The slow songs in this album feel like truth slipping underneath his mask of hyper beats, bass and catchy melodies. Behind the electro-pop elements is vulnerability, fear of being alone and inevitable heartbreak that poisons a relationship’s stability.
In January, Styles commenced his new era with teasers reading, “We belong together.” These words found themselves in the lyrics of lead single, “Aperture,” released shortly after.
The intro vibrates like an echo from a loud room next door, preceding a rhythmic, repetitive hook and catchy chorus, all suitable sounds for the entire album’s club-soundtrack-eqsue.
“Aperture lets the light in” encapsulates the album’s theme – shedding a little light on the darkness of life. Togetherness, discos and music are the rays that come together to cast his light.
Track two, “American Girls” threw me for a loop, leaving me questioning if I accidentally pressed play on a One Direction song. At that moment, I knew this album wasn’t going to have just one sound.
This song plays with listeners’ nostalgia by resurrecting the chanty vocals of boyband Harry and intertwining them with the production of his solo work and a dance break to remind fans of the occasional disco that the title promised.
“Ready, Steady, Go!” feels like the “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” of this album, with a kick drum, acoustic guitar and grainy vocals in addition to a groovy keyboard. It’s very funky and very Harry Styles.
He returns to his first-album’s roots with the next song, “Are You Listening Yet?” If you like Olivia Rodrigo’s music, you’ll like this one, as it follows the format of her pop-punk songs, with conversational verses that often carry the song.
Track five, “Taste Back” was an instant favorite for me, the first song of the album I immediately added to my playlist. Styles repeats “you just need a little love” with adlibs to perfectly complete the melody. It draws similarities to The Neighborhood’s “Softcore.”
“The Waiting Game” follows right after, another first-listen love. This song is the first of the album to feel reliant on the lyrics instead of the production. By amplifying the lyrical message, it’s a window into his thoughts that makes you want to listen to the rest of the songs again to hear what you missed in the melodies.
Another introspective song follows with “Season 2 Weight Loss.” As a superstar, Styles’ perspective on life and love varies from the average person. While many of his songs ask a question to an estranged love interest, this song asks the question, “do you love me now?” to the listener.
He wonders if after four years out of the spotlight, will his return be everything and more or will he disappoint? This captivatingly breaks the fourth wall in his artistry and shifts fans from listeners to respondents.
Although the past few songs adapted a more contemplative tone, the music firmly remained upbeat. That is until “Coming Up Roses.” An orchestral intro unexpectedly shifted the album, leading to a string instrument quietly plucking in the shadows and vulnerable lyrics portraying the end of a relationship.
It feels like a haunting foreshadowing of knowing the end is near. Despite the lyrics that assure him all is well, it feels like something is about to go wrong like the score in a movie right before the big betrayal scene.
It offers the relationship one last dance to the tune of the orchestra’s interlude.The heaviest song on the album transitions into an immediate pick up of pace with “Pop.”
It’s a revival to the ear, with a noticeable bass and electric guitar. Unfortunately, I can’t get past the fact that it reminds me of Ylvis’ 2010s hit, “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)”
Thematically, “Dance No More” makes perfect sense within this album and sits well in Styles’s discography. I like it, but what comes after is one of my favorites.
“Paint By Numbers” delivers everything a fan of his first album craves – a soft drum, blues-feel and a pace you could close your eyes to, but it asks the questions that only an older, wiser Styles would ponder. Personally, I think this could have been the album’s closing track.
Ending with the lyric, “It’s a lifetime of learnin’ to paint by numbers/ Watchin’ the colours run,” would have been just the right amount of closure and ambiguity to leave listeners in Styles’ most-current state of mind.
However, “Carla’s Song,” a dedication to his friend, holds the spot as the album’s closer. Thematically, this one makes sense, as it takes you through the tales of “Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally” in with allusions to light, the concept of waiting and music as a language.
Catchy melodies, repetitive hooks and funky instrumentals carry this album. It’s cohesive, and it fits in, almost a little too well, with his other previous works, particularly “Harry’s House.”
He’s always been experimental, but it feels like he got comfortable in the realm of experimentation that he has already explored. There isn’t a lot of newness brought to his artistry, other than the very unique “Coming Up Roses” that deserves its recognition (its flowers if you will).
In relation to its title, the album feels mostly disco, heartbreak occasionally. Groovy reverbs and infectious beats are the default sound while emotional ballads wait to strike at any given moment.
Although the entire album isn’t for everyone, if you like any of his music, at least a few of these songs will be playlist-worthy, if not on repeat.
My Rating: 4/5