On March 6th, Harry Styles released his long-awaited fourth album. This follows his very beloved album, Harry’s House, which won 14 times during its award season. For his first single, Aperture, he set up pop-up listening sessions. Even though there was excitement about a new album, there were still a lot of mixed emotions about the newest track. With the continued rollout, opinions have been expressed all the way from Rolling Stone Magazine to X. This album has strayed away from his typical classic pop sound and ventured into techno and even house territory.
Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. has earned the nickname ‘Kissco’ by fans. It has 12 tracks that span from 2 minutes to 5 minutes long with an overall length of 43 minutes. While on his hiatus, Styles spent a lot of time in Berlin, which is reflected in the vibes of album. Berlin is one of the Techno music capitals in the world. Unlike his past albums, this one has a lot of synths, bass, and drums. The bass and drums are both rhythm instruments, which are extremely important when it comes to the beat, and more importantly, dancing.
When at the New York City listening party of Aperture, one of the event staff asked my friends and I what we thought the song would sound like. I said I thought it would sound a lot like David Bowie’s Lets Dance, while my friend, Kaitlyn, said she thought it would be more synths driven. While Kaitlyn might have hit the nail on the head better than I did, we both really liked the new song. Styles music is something that has brought Kaitlyn and I together, just as music has for generations of people. This made being able to experience a new song and a limited event with her and thousands of other “Harries” was special.
The consensus from fans has been nothing but positive reactions. An hour after the album was released, I was already seeing Tik Tok edits of shows and movies such as Normal People and La La Land with songs from the album. Which for Gen Z, this is a sign of a well-received media. Each song is slightly unique while also correlating at the exact same time. The main factor in all these songs is that he wants you to dance, and that’s clear. There’s only one slow song in the entire album; “Coming Up Roses” has a string background that slows the pace down for the listener down. It reminded me of a first dance song at a wedding, it’s beautiful with lyrics such as “Tell me your fears I’ve turned back the clocks, it’s that time of year If we stay the course, we could get it right” and “But we see out the night with your head on my chest, me and you.”
While this new era is exciting and well-received, for many fans, something was missing. In the three previous albums from Styles, Harry Styles, Fine Line, and Harry’s House, there have been mentions of antidotes and fruit. Kiwis, cherries, watermelon, bananas, and grapes have become huge indicators of the Harry Styles fan community. For many, it was a sign of major change. The absence of something that is typically a theme for Styles’ music felt slightly jarring for fans. Not only have we grown up, but Styles has too. He will always bring a sense of familiarity to people. Whether it’s interviews or music videos, his 1 Direction to Kissco era, he will always hold a piece of many hearts.
Styles mentioned his first solo album felt predictable; it wasn’t what he necessarily wanted but what fans and executives wanted. When Styles appeared on the March 14th episode of Saturday Night Live he had mentioned how most of his life has been spent in the public eye and in the music industry. Sometimes a break is needed to fall in love with something that used to be your dream. While listening to this album, you can tell Harry Styles is so back.