As a certified Harry Styles hater, I was shocked when, in February, I heard his new single, “Aperture”, on the radio and actually liked it. Then, in March, I reluctantly listened to the full album after friends gave rave reviews. I expected nothing more than the shallow, surface-level pop with overtly repetitive lyrics that I had heard from him in the past, and while there were definitely elements of that present in this album, overall, it felt deeper and more mature than any of his previous work.
This new album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. is Styles’s fourth album, coming after Harry’s House, released in 2022. This extended break has given him four years to truly develop his unique sound as an artist and figure out who he is as a person, which really shows in this album. It opens with the lead single “Aperture”, a track that succeeds in setting the tone for this new era of Styles’s music. It begins with a relatively long intro, however the backing drum beat builds interest and holds the listener’s attention until Styles’s smooth voice glides in. He sings about his so-far fruitless search for love that has rendered him weak-kneed and nervous to even try, but eventually promises to stop procrastinating, and finally “let the light in”. As the song progresses, this proves to be a good choice, as his vocal confidence grows, peaking at the lyrics, “We belong together / It finally appears, it’s only love”. Styles has now confronted his fear of putting himself out there, and realized that there was nothing to be afraid of. The outro fades out with sparkling synth and bright, twinkly textures that show he has finally opened the curtains of his uncertainty and truly let the light in.
Other standout tracks of this album include, “Are You Listening Yet?”, “Coming Up Roses”, and “Dance No More”. In “Are You Listening Yet?”, a personal favorite of the album, Styles sings a critical, self-aware song full of clever lyrics and interesting textures. He begins the piece with the lyrics, “God knows your life is on the brink / and your therapist’s well fed”. He might be calling out his audience on this one, but to me it seems that he is alluding to his own feelings of uncertainty and instability. He further deepens his introspection when he sings, “It’s like you’re taking up arms / But the message is wet / It sounds inviting, but you don’t believe in it yet / You keep forgetting your mantra, which thoughts you had on your own”. These lyrics are deeply personal and feel relatable to the average listener, focusing on authenticity and sending the message to listeners to not lose themselves or be swayed by others. “Coming Up Roses” is a sentimental, cinematic ballad that feels like a snippet of Old Hollywood. It incorporates a full orchestra that builds intensity and provides a contrast to the heavy electronic textures of previous tracks. A lush, romantic piece, it centers on Styles’s uncertainty about being misunderstood in his relationship, but eventually resolves with the lovers ending up back together as he sings, “but we’ll see out the night with your head on my chest, me and you”. “Dance No More” incorporates 60s and 70s disco vibes, with bouncy background elements, electric guitar solos, and references to drag culture with shouts of “Respect your mother!”. These components all meld together perfectly to create a true dance anthem that is exciting and fun to listen to.
However, there were also a few songs that didn’t quite hit the mark for me, especially the second single, “American Girls”. Personally, I feel that this piece sounds very trendy and generic, to the point that it could be easily misinterpreted as a song by many other artists, losing the signature identity that Styles has created through this album. While the album is still rooted in mainstream pop, it also pulls heavily from indie and electronic sounds. In “Taste Back”, Styles falls back into his past patterns of repetition, with his constant reiteration of the lyrics, “Did you get your taste back? / Or do you just need a little love?” feeling like a juvenile regression back to his previous habits, losing most interest or meaning. The song is further left unsaved by the backing track, a boring, repetitive mix of sounds that is uncharacteristically shallow for this album.
Overall, I really enjoyed Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, compared to Styles’ other albums, which I have previously disliked for their excessive repetition and lack of nuance. Kiss All The Time shows off Styles’s new sound perfectly, and showcases his evolution as an artist. He incorporates diverse inspirations to create an album that is not pure, superficial pop, but a compilation of profound, refined, and exciting tracks. It also hinges less on the over-the-top vocals that have taken center stage in past releases, and lets the music truly shine. Ultimately, this is all to say that I’ve been converted, and am now proud to call myself a Harry Styles fan.
