Harry Styles released his fourth studio album on Mar. 6, called “Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally.” This album was a long awaited release after four years of no new single. The album is all about expectations and reflection on relationships.
Before the album was released Styles announced a tour that got immense backlash from his fans. Styles chose to do multiple nights in seven cities across six countries.
This was an outrage, especially to Styles’ North American fans. Styles decided to have 30 shows throughout two months in New York. Doing this made fans frustrated as many would have to book flights, hotels and purchase tickets which would be an extreme financial burden. Styles released his first and only single in the middle of this controversy.
“Aperture” was the first released as a single on Jan. 23, and became the leading song on the album. This single sets the funky, futuristic sound Styles incorporates throughout the album. “Aperture” is a term used in photography meaning the amount of light the camera lets in. Styles compares this to allowing yourself to open up in a relationship.
The third song on the album is “Ready, Steady, Go!” It is a reflection of a hookup advancing into a relationship. Styles conveys that he’s nervous about jumping into a relationship, unsure if he’s ready. The second half of the song is Styles repeating “Ready, steady, go” preparing himself to commit to the relationship.
“Are You Listening Yet?” is about running away from a looming problem. Throughout the song Styles sings “Oh, are you listening yet?” trying to convince himself to stand up to this problem and face it head on. The outro goes on to repeat this saying eight times slowly fading away. The energetic instrumental contradicts the serious message of the song.
A seemingly random song that fits into the album, “Coming Up Rose” stood out as the opening starts with a beautiful set of strings which completely abandons the futuristic sound. The strings get stronger as the song goes on eventually they get accompanied by mournful piano. The song is a reflection on being in a relationship that is actively falling apart.
These themes of reflection continue with “Paint By Numbers,” the second to last song on the album. Styles explains the hardships of being an artist who’s changed their sound. Lyrics like, “When they put an image in your head, and now you’re stuck with it,” and “Holding the weight of the American children whose hearts you break” reference his fame while in One Direction and the struggle of fans not accepting that this time of his life is over whilst trying to build his own brand.
The album was masterfully produced. Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson– producers of other albums like “Cowboy Carter” or singles like “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus –who worked on the album really embraced Styles’ sound and pushed what a pop music album could be.
This album was a positive addition to his ever-growing discography. The impressive soundscape really shined. Styles knows how to make a great pop album and demonstrates he can only get better.
