Even if you’ve only just started listening to Harry Styles, this album offers up its fair share of soft acoustic songs and intense rockers.
Harry Styles sounds like he’s almost there. Beginning to end, Harry Styles is the album you’d listen to on a road trip nonstop, from the chill and laid-back, sunny Los Angeles to the never-ending, hustle and bustle of New York City.
The album takes you on an adventure that you never want to end. It redefines his love of classic rock but allows him to put his own modern twist to the music he grew up listening to.
One can immediately spot Styles’ influences on the first listen. “Meet Me in the Hallway” is a psychedelic pop/rock nod to Pink Floyd with its melodic bassline and “Sweet Creature” begins with chords reminiscent to those in “Blackbird” by the Beatles.
Harry Styles has the makings of becoming a rock star we could still be idolizing 40 years from now. His look is to die for, having traded in plain t-shirts for coloured suits and flared trousers. His personality is as charismatic as it gets. Even his name — Harry Styles — begs to be brought up with the likes of Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury. He’s really got it all.
“I wanted to see if I could write something that people liked, without knowing everything about me,” which is exactly what this album felt like. Harry Styles finally gave the space he needed to soar vocally and that’s apparent throughout the entire album, but what’s missing lyrically is that same emotion.
It’s understandable to see why Styles would want to keep quiet. After being in the biggest boyband in the world — One Direction — for over five years and having the public know every bit about his private life. This sadly translates to his writing where most songs paint a vague picture of the story he inevitably wants to tell.
Along with the use of too many generic turns of praise, he writes about the various women he’s been with, such as a “good girl” from “Carolina” and a “devil in between the sheets” in “Only Angel.” “Kiwi” is probably the most confusing song on the album from start to finish but its driving beat is what keeps the audience engaged.
“Two Ghosts” and “Ever Since New York” offer up a softer side to Styles in between hard-rockers. Both talk about relationships that he wishes had worked out or could have been more and lyrically are quite striking. “Woman” opens with a powerful piano followed by an almost shrieking duck noise that continues during the majority of the song.
The backing vocals throughout Harry Styles are incredible. It’s refreshing to hear each song sung with such high energy and gusto, whether it’s the never ending “la la’s” and wails in “Carolina” or breathtaking screams in “Sweet Creature.” Hearing Styles sing these bits so alive and enthusiastically makes each song more unique than the last and brings character that lacks lyrically in some songs.
The real star from the album is his debut single, “Sign of the Times.” Whereas the entire album is somewhat expressive and his raspy tone allows his vocals to shine, “Sign of the Times”really touches something in you that you’ve never felt before. It’s by far the most outstanding song off the album that you would never want to skip. It almost sounds like a lovechild made from David Bowie and Queen — borrowing their raw emotion and modernizing it.
“From the Dining Table” may just be Styles at his most vulnerable. The song opens dramatically with him masturbating alone in his hotel room before getting drunk and passing out. His voice is so achingly soft that it sounds like he’s singing directly into your ear. This song invites you into the life of Harry Styles and is what the rest of the album should have possessed. It’s a secret that felt like it was meant for only you to hear and ends the album with the listener wanting more.
Even if you’ve only just started listening to Harry Styles, this album offers up its fair share of soft acoustic songs and intense rockers. His debut album is captivating and catchy but leads you to ask too many follow-up questions. It feels like you’re missing a piece of Styles effervescent persona.
