Harry Styles’ highly anticipated album, “Kiss all the time. Disco, occasionally,” was released last Friday, March 6, after his four-year hiatus.
Fans anticipated a synth-driven disco sound in opposition to his past hit albums. However, he shocked fans by incorporating new fast tempo 16th notes with a modular synth to create a techno vibe. Styles delivered an album catered to his values, along with debuting a new elusive sound.
The previous One Direction star’s fourth studio album is a collection of 12 songs rooted in vulnerability and self-identity. The 42-minute and 12-second collaboration between Styles, Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson reminisces on Styles’ past and looks to his future in both music and personal relationships.
The album’s only single, “Aperture,” previewed the optimistic but melancholy feel through the swaying in Styles’ voice and the change between the intro and the upbeat chorus. The song acts as an introduction to Styles’ new era of electric dance music. The music video opens by showing Styles alone in a large hotel room, emphasizing his loneliness with a silent phone and wide shots. The song encompasses the idea of aperture: letting light in. Styles does this by admitting his wrongdoings to move forward and allow his fans back into his life. This is represented by Styles momentarily dancing with a stranger, retracing his steps back to his empty room.
“American Girls,” the second song on Styles’ album, is not as lyrically upbeat as it sounds. The song is about Styles’ loneliness while the people around him find their “American Girls.” The song displays his musical vulnerability. Styles admitted to pursuing fulfillment, similar to what his friends have found.
The all-encompassing, bursting sound of the layered vocals and pulsing bass of “Are you listening yet?” distracts the listener from truly listening. When they finally understand the importance of the constant repetition of “Now you’re all out of choices, are you listening yet?” The song is over. Styles’ forces this, signifying the worth of soaking up experiences and people when you still can.
“Paint by numbers” slows down the album and begins with the lyrics “what a gift it is to be noticed, but it’s nothin’ to do with me,” signifying his appreciation for his fans but admitting and accepting that they don’t truly know him. Styles admits he almost kept this song for himself, but wanted to let others watch him come together and be a person, not just a celebrity. The song reveals Styles letting others in, solidifying his vulnerability throughout the album.
Although the album doesn’t cater to Styles’ normal demographic, the lyrical sensitivity displayed makes “Kiss all the time. Disco, occasionally,” one of the greatest. I believe that Styles’ intent with this album was to connect listeners through his personal experiences away from fame. The music can be seen as happy, as sad, and everything in between, evolving with Harry as he grows and finds himself in and outside of the spotlight.
