Suddenly this weekend the ballad ‘Coming Up Roses’, a song from Harry Styles’ upcoming fourth studio album, was released Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, in Fred Again’s dance set. During the popular producer’s show in London’s Alexandra Palace, it was a preview for surprised clubbers. „But we sleep half the night with your head on my chest, me and you. There’s only me and you“, sang Harry Styles, softly, melancholy on pizzicato strings. Arms swayed along. The cleverly leaked track had an effect: the fragment went viral.
After three years in the shadows, singer Harry Styles, one of the biggest names in contemporary pop music, is buzzing again. Harry is backand we will know. First came the announcement of a world tour, a ‘residency’ in seven world cities, starting in May with ten shows in the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam. Then the news that new music was coming. There were endless queues for ticket sales. Special listening events for fans; sometimes downright hysterical. In the Netherlands, this ranged from fans in polonaise to crying to fans lying on the ground in confusion, according to record label Sony.
And also next weekend fan driven as it is called: with various Harry Styles pop-up stores and a stream (Netflix, March 8) of his concert One Night In Manchester – his new record live for the first time. Yes, the tidal wave will roll out for months to come.
Last Saturday, the British pop prince, now 32 years old and living in America, who was a poster boy in the British boy band One Direction from the age of sixteen and made three albums as an eye-catching solo artist, returned to the stage for the first time. With vibrant vintage disco energy, he and a battery of dancers opened the show at the Brit Awards, the presentation of the prestigious British pop music prizes. Despite an intensive, geometric choreography with jazz hands and nods, the dark sound of his vocals in single ‘Aperture’, the opening track of his new album, remained stable and powerful.
Strict embargoes
Released Friday Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. Music media were previously allowed to listen to the album at Sony Music headquarters. As is the case with major releases, everything was surrounded by caution: phones returned, strict embargoes, no room for premature leaks. It illustrates the scale on which Styles operates.
It is immediately palpable what kind of record this is: the songs set in motion or slow down until everything around you becomes softer. You want to dance, sometimes just join in, but Styles always pulls you into the music. You understand why his tour TogetherTogether is called: it’s about being together, about a collective lightness in which everyone is on the same wavelength.
Ready to blend anonymously into the crowd that merges into a sweaty, ecstatic dance tangle around 2 a.m.
This album takes you straight to the dance floor, ready to merge anonymously into the crowd that merges into a sweaty, ecstatic dance tangle around 2am. Where his previous album Harry’s House was still a colorful bouquet of cleverly crafted pop songs that connected the present with his love for the seventies and eighties (languid grooves, tingling synths, funky bass lines), this new record sounds distinctly electronic and club-oriented.
Styles mentions the influence of the American band LCD Soundsystem in interviews. But in the ravey exciting, layered synths, you can also hear some of the electronic disco rhythms of the band Tame Impala, or a hint of rhythmic ingenuity from Pharrell Williams, tight groovy pop from Justin Timberlake. And there are modern disco influences reminiscent of Nile Rodgers.
In addition to running marathons, in very fast times, and enjoying ‘normal’ free time by traveling, the pop star has often wanted to experience what it is like to be on the other side of the podium over the past two years. How does live music come in as a visitor? What is it like to be a stranger among other strangers, immersed in music and the magic of the night? In the obscure dance club Berghain in Berlin, for example – a place that singer Rosalía was also recently inspired by. Today’s artist longs for a collective disappearance.
Carefully orchestrated euphoria
Styles switches up the sweet retro tone of his previous record. Opening track ‘Aperture’ punctures his safe bubble with its calm, gradual build-up and when the slowly swelling synth layers and acid-like sound accents come into full bloom, blissful release comes as Styles makes his first appearance „we belong togetherrrr” sings.
It is a carefully orchestrated euphoria, which presents itself more often on the album: subdued opening pieces that culminate in refined beats and distorted synths. It sometimes makes the album a bit one-sided, Harry’s House had some more different flavors.
What can be heard here is a beautiful creative shift: from retro romanticism to the pumping dance glow of the night
But ‘Ready Steady Go!’ will definitely be a big hit. A thick bassline à la The White Stripes culminates in a Billie Eilish in her early days production full weird cut up synth layers. Also nice: ‘American Girls’, which grows into groovy electro-pop after a piano introduction. While ‘Are You Listening Yet?’ with his talking vocals and British indie edge, he aims for total dedication on the dance floor.
Styles’ voice often sounds muffled. The productions are full, rich in crazy soundscrazy rhythms and elastic basses, sometimes almost excessive. As in the cheerful modern disco pop track ‘Pop‘ and the funky ‘Dance No More’, which nods to Timberlake.
An exception is the ballad ‘Coming Up Roses’, in which his voice emerges clearly and vulnerable: it will almost certainly become a fan favorite. And ‘Paint By Numbers’, with its almost Beatle-esque guitar intro, also offers a softer reflective moment.
A recurring name in the credits is that of producer Thomas Hull aka Kid Harpoon, previously also responsible for huge hits such as ‘Watermelon Sugar’, ‘Adore You’ and ‘As It Was’. And remarkable: apart from jazz drummer Tom Skinner, who plays in at least half of all songs, and the House Gospel Choir, there are no other prominent features. Styles carries this quite impressive record largely alone.
But please, let’s stop talking about his ‘new era’. Artists develop, we expect that from them too. What can be heard here is a beautiful creative shift: from retro romanticism to the pumping dance glow of the night.
