A room turned upside down, with lamps on the floor, a sofa on the roof and a door with no possible entrance. With this scenario in the cover image, Harry Styles’ third – and highly anticipated – solo album, Harry’s House, was released on May 20th.
Featuring 13 songs in which all of them Style’s worked as co-writer, the album is already breaking records worldwide, and conquered more than five million streams in Brazil only in the first 24 hours after the release. At the moment this article is being written, all of the songs from the album are among the most streamed ones in the world on Spotify. The album was also responsible for breaking records on vinyl sales: according to Billboard, it was the biggest number in the U.S since 1991, only three days after the album was released.
If for the charts Harry’s House is already leaving its mark, on Harry’s career and fans we can guess that it will have the same impact. Part of it can be related to the fact that this is a work where we can see a different Harry Styles from the one in Fine Line (2019) or even in Harry Styles, his first solo album from 2017. Since this one is a result of isolated times during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a kind of internal journey to the singer’s reflections during this period closer with himself, looking for somewhere – or somewhat – he could call home. “I think everyone went through a big moment of self-reflection, and I don’t know if there’s anything more navel-gazing than making an album”, he states in his exclusive interview to Better Homes & Gardens magazine.
The frontage
Before getting into someone’s house, the first thing we look at is the frontage. It is made to be seen and liked by people, and shows the first take of the whole essence of the home we’re about to know more about. That is how the first song of the album, “Music for a sushi restaurant” felt like for me – a nice start that made me curious about what was coming next. “Grapejuice” follows it with more great melody and a romantic lyric that we can see in our minds while listening to it. There’s a nice groove here – and after “Kiwi” and “Watermelon Sugar”, we couldn’t expect a lack of fruit metaphors in an upcoming album.
Together with it, we have “As It Was”, who plays the lead single role in a great way. It can mix the 80s-style in the melody and the accelerated beat with a lyric that, at first sight, you can even sing like it is a cheerful hit, but not actually. Handling tough changes, dealing with the past and what is left of it in your present life and understanding that it is a part of your story can take time, but relax – “As It Was” is here for you to relate.
The living room
We can notice that despite the highlights of the emotive tracks (we’re gonna talk about it next), the heart of this album are songs like “Daylight”, “Daydreaming” and “Keep Driving”. Just like in the recently released music video of “Daylight”, we could throw a party in a living room and let people sing them out loud on repeat. Also, I see “Daydreaming” as a close contender of “As It Was”, but with a happier proposal.
For those who had the opportunity to see Styles live on 2022’s edition of Coachella or checked the performance on social media, “Late Night Talking” wasn’t a surprise. The singer had already performed it during the concert on April 15, and it promises to be an outstanding moment of Harry’s performances.
“Satellite” follows the same path, with a catchy chorus and a thrilling synth-pop base. It is about living cycles in a relationship where he can never get closer to the partner, no matter what. The song could be a perfect match with the good old “Spaces”, from One Direction, both wondering “who’s gonna be the first to say goodbye”.
The back door
After tackling the loneliness of a former relationship in “As It Was”, “Little Freak” comes with a mix of regrets about a heartbreaking love that still owns a place in his heart and mind. I guess that if “happier”, from Olivia Rodrigo, would be recorded in some years with a grown-up Olivia, it would be something just like Little Freak: maybe no more “I hope you’re happy, but don’t be happier”, just “I’m not worried about where you are / or who you will go home to / I’m just thinking about you.”
And talking about leaving and growing up, “Matilda” comes to say that we don’t have to be sorry for it. Beginning with a guitar that reminds me a lot of the first seconds of “Under Pressure” instrumental part, the song is already *the moment* on Tik Tok, but we can’t say that this one is for dancing or viral trends. The match between voice and guitar creates an atmosphere that is almost a conversation between Harry and Matilda, who can be a metaphor to anyone else – even a personification of Styles itself, like a conversation with his soul.
For “Boyfriends” and “Love Of My Life” was left the responsibility of closing the door of Harry’s House, and, although they’re not on the level of Little Freak and Matilda, they have enough presence and emotion for that. But to be fair, let’s give the prize to “Love Of My Life”. “Boyfriends” is not that much, and features a lyric that seemed kinda repetitive. It is just like “girl, you deserve better” – but in a poetic way. However, the song is great to listen to and Ben Harper’s arrangements on guitar doesn’t disappoint.
Surely, the most beautiful part of the album are the most personal and intimate songs, but the mix between the disco vibes in some beats and the more reflexive ones are the structure Harry needed to surprise us, from the sushi restaurant to the love letter. With this work, the singer invited us to embrace changes, accept some unwelcome feelings and have a taste of his increasing complexity as a musician. In the shape of danceable grooves, 80’s references and personal experiences, Harry Styles finally found something to call home – thanks for letting us in!
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The article above was edited by Nicoly Bastos.
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