By: Ava Stanek
There is something so poetic about remembering your life through albums. For me, Harry Styles has become a timekeeper of some of my greatest milestones and memories. The last time he released an album, I was a senior in high school. I was on the edge, unsure of where the next chapter of my life would take me. Now, with Kiss All the Time and Disco Occasionally, I find myself in that same space again, but this time as a senior in college. Different version of me, same bittersweet feeling of anticipation, nostalgia, and possibility that I’m sure we can all relate to.
This album feels like it understands that exact emotional rollercoaster. It’s vibrant and shiny on the surface, but underneath, there’s deep emotion. Drawing clear inspiration from disco, the album leans into funky basslines, rhythmic grooves, and that urge to dance like it’s 1970 again. There are electric moments that place it perfectly under a shimmering disco ball, but what makes the album stand out is how it refuses to stay in one musical lane. You can hear inspiration from David Bowie and Prince throughout as well, not just in sound but in essence. There’s something theatrical, an “I don’t care what you think of me” attitude, and an unmistakable nod to some of music’s most expressive artists. Some tracks feel bolder, while others strip things back to create an emotional, vulnerable space for musical diversity.
What stands out to me most, though, are the songs that blend modern pop with house elements and disco undertones, especially “Dance No More” (which my boyfriend said sounds exactly like Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”), “American Girls,” “Aperture,” and “Ready, Steady, Go!” These tracks feel like the heart of the album’s versatility. “Dance No More” captures that euphoric, funk energy, while “American Girls” leans into a more upbeat pop sound that still carries retro influence. “Aperture” feels more unique, balancing atmospheric production with emotional depth, and “Ready, Steady, Go!” is impossible to sit still through; it’s bold, rhythmic, and will get the crowd moving. Together, they show how seamlessly Harry blends genres, creating something that feels both a reflection of modern pop and disco nostalgia.
The release of this album is especially meaningful to me because I’m usually not a fan of modern music. I tend to gravitate toward older sounds and artists, which is why this album resonates so much. Harry Styles is honestly the only modern artist I consistently keep up with, and I think it’s because his music doesn’t feel confined to one era. He pulls from the past while still creating something unique, which makes his work stand out in a way that most music released nowadays doesn’t for me.
Harry’s stylistic variation is exactly what makes this album so special. At first, you’re dancing uncontrollably, completely lost in the summer vibes Harry so beautifully presented us with in March (thank you, Harry!). Before you know it, you’re sitting with a song that hits a little too close to home. Slower-versed songs like “The Waiting Game” and “Coming Up Roses” are beautiful ballads that capture that exact feeling of being in your early twenties: the adventure, the uncertainty, the nostalgia for who you used to be, and the excitement for who you’re becoming. “Carla’s Song,” the last song on the album, repeats the line “It’s all waiting there for you,” which I’ve come to interpret as a reminder of all the opportunities waiting for us in the post-graduation world.
Listening to Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally now feels like a full-circle moment. Back in high school, Harry’s albums came out at such monumental moments in my life. Fine Line was released during the pandemic, Harry’s House came out at the end of my senior year, and now KATTDO arrives at the end of my senior year of college. His music has become intertwined with my growth as a person. With each album, I look back at what I’ve accomplished, what I was once afraid of, and how I’ve grown into those fears. And now, standing in another moment of transition, I have that same simultaneous feeling of pride and uncertainty all over again.
It’s comforting to have an artist whose work evolves alongside you, especially one who can make you dance but isn’t afraid to let you feel everything else, too.
As graduation approaches and reality starts to set in a little more, this album dropped at the perfect time. Not as a symbolic conclusion of my college years, but as a reminder that it’s okay to exist in the in-between. To celebrate, to reflect, to dance, and to cry—sometimes all at once.