My first concert was Harry Style’s Love On Tour in 2021. And if the giant disco ball that was hanging from the ceiling, projecting shimmer and light across the room was not enough of an indicator for his album 5 years later, I don’t know what was.
Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. is Harry Styles’ return to music after taking a break following the release of Harry’s House in 2022. In the meantime, he’s been popping up in random countries, ran a marathon, and everyone has been sitting on their hands — or leaving comments on TikTok — wondering when he would return to music.
A departure from his previous sound, opting for a sound more suited for discoing occasionally, his album lets us into his mindset, and who he is evolving into as an artist. Although the album is hit after hit, here are some of my favorites off Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.
This was a dangerous song to release while American girls – me – are traveling the world. This song’s lyrics are about Syles’ own experience travelling the world with his friends. It seems everywhere he goes, his friends are drawn to American girls. In many ways, I believe people can be very attracted to foreign accents, behaviors, etc., Something I’ve seen personally is the way men are drawn – for whatever reason it may be – to girls studying abroad from America.
This song also may nod to the trend that happened on the international leg of his Love on Tour, where people would scream the lyric leave America while he was performing “As It Was”. Although he did tour internationally, international fans were frustrated with how much time he was spending in the states. Whatever the meaning may be, the upbeat nature of this song makes me happy whether it’s playing in my headphones or is switched to at a sushi restaurant.
I personally loved this song specifically when I visited Paris for the second time. I had just been turned away from a museum because I didn’t have a ticket – long story – and I was trying to keep myself from sobbing my eyes out. As I sat in the Tuileries, I resonated with the lyric, Must be lonely out in Paris if you talk like that. Taking it to mean that I would remain lonely in Paris if I kept wallowing alone in how upset I was instead of realizing how lucky I am to just be in Paris.
However, “Taste Back” is about the feelings that arise when a person from the past appears. There are numerous questions throughout the song, as Styles is trying to understand how and where this person has been since he has seen them last. There’s a dichotomy between if the person who has come back is looking for a new relationship, or just comfort. There’s this difficulty Styles faces trying to understand whether or not it’s a good idea to begin a new relationship with this person or not.
Ugh, sobbing. Styles sings about how you found/ Someone to put your arms around/ Playing the waiting game/ But it all adds up to nothing. This song is about waiting to see if you can find the one, and in the meantime, putting your arms around someone else. I love this song because I think you can play the waiting game in all aspects of life, not just relationships. However, even if it seems to satiate the longing at the time, the temporary satisfaction doesn’t last.
There are TikToks that assign songs, books, flowers, characters, and everything in between to different zodiac signs. Scrolling on my “For You page” one day, I came across “Your Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. song depending on your zodiac sign”. When I saw that this random account said that Scorpio was “Season 2 Weight Loss”, I ran with it.
In his interview with Zane Lowe, he explains that, “It’s the mission statement of the album in a lot of ways. It’s like, you know when there’s a Netflix show and it blows up and everyone comes back, in the second season, and everyone’s got a nutritionist and everyone’s got a trainer and everyone suddenly looks amazing: “Season 2 Weight Loss”. So, it’s this idea of coming back and returning as the character, but suddenly he has cheekbones. And that is what it was for me, I felt like I was coming back as a stronger version of myself. If I show up as this version of myself, will you take that?”
Lowe explains that this is where the lyrics, Hoping you will love me now/ Do you love me now? Do you? Do you?/ Do I let you down? come from.
“Coming Up Roses” began as a Christmas song. Continuing in his interview with Zane Lowe, Styles remembers how, “I wrote in December and it started because I was trying to write a Christmas song. So that lasted two lines, but it was Tell me your fears / I’ve turned back the clocks, it’s that time of year. I think I was just trying to do something different.”
One of Harry Styles’ strengths as an artist is his storytelling ability. “Coming Up Roses” is about a relationship where he can’t really tell where they stand. However, he’s opting that Just for tonight, let’s go hangover chasing/ And I’ll talk your ear off about why it’s safe/ As I fumble my words and fall flat on my face through the truth.
The final track on Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. is “Carla’s Song”. Carla is one of Styles’ closest friends in real life, and he was inspired to write the song after they spent time together before heading out to an afterparty. She told him that she recently discovered Paul Simon – of Simon & Garfunkel. This prompted him to play her music by the band, playing “Kathy’s Song” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. He said that watching her hear some of his favorite songs for the first time deeply moved him. It was like, “watching someone discover magic.”
As a fan of Simon & Garfunkel myself, “Carla’s Song” is one of my favorites of theirs. This track ends the album on an uplifting note. It’s all waiting there for you/ Call it what you wanna/ I know what you like, I know what you really like. The song celebrates the joy of discovery — stemming from his own experience — and the beauty of life. There is so much in the world around you, so look, hear, and see it!
Harry Styles did come back stronger. For me, this is a no-skip album that has an immense range of emotion and sound. These are just some of the songs that are bringing my taste back, but there are many more that remain on repeat.