Harry Styles’ new album,“Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally,” is composed of different variations of the same unremarkable pop music.
On a first and second listen, it’s hard for me to distinguish anything especially noteworthy about the album. It’s not that the project itself is bad, it’s just forgettable. It sounds like something that would play in the background, but not something worth a deeper investigation.
I found it to be a watered-down version of the songs I enjoyed from Styles’ previous album, “Harry’s House.”
The album begins with a single, “Aperture.” With the song trending on social media, you’re bound to have heard it. It features uncomplicated lines like, “the aperture’s what lets the light in,” and “I’ve got no more tricks up my sleeve.” Despite this simplicity, I do think it’s a good first track.
The first song on an album is arguably the most important. It sets a tone for the subsequent tracks and serves as a recognizable intro. Although the song wasn’t a standout, it still serves well as a representation for the rest of the album.
Moving onto “American Girls,” the second track on the album, I’m once again underwhelmed. It repeats the same line throughout, but never tries to break out of the norms of Styles’ past work. It feels incredibly surface level, with a beat not catchy enough to justify this failing.
There are, however, a few songs I did enjoy off of the album.
“Pop” is an upbeat song with a simplistic chorus but a few interesting lines like, “Catching stray dogs, try but you can’t tame them.”
My favorite song by far was “Coming Up Roses” with its slow melody and stumbling delivery. I think it also serves as a solid representation of my overarching point. Styles is clearly a talented musician, but he hasn’t significantly changed his style for years. My biggest complaint with the album is that I’m bored. It’s too similar to what we’ve seen him do time and time again. The thing is, we know he can do it well, but I’m tired of the same thing from Styles.
Although I really wanted to like this album, it didn’t land for me. His past work, Harry’s House, grew on me. The more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it. His newest album didn’t have that same appeal. My life is the same as before it came out, but I’ll probably still tap my foot when it comes on in the grocery store.
