After much anticipation for his fourth studio album, Harry Styles released “Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally,” on Mar. 6. His lead single “Aperture” set the tone for this new era of embracing dance sounds while still holding on to his signature pop flare. 

Although this album received mixed reviews, with the overarching theme of these reviews being that this album was spectacularly “okay,” I found this album to be inspired and fun. While his vocals are more muted throughout this album in comparison to previous projects, there are still occasional moments of lyrical impact. 

The song “Season 2 Weight Loss” heavily emphasizes a sonic experience based in dynamic instrumentation, but then that song is followed by “Coming Up Roses,” a powerful ballad that leans more heavily on Style’s signature vocals. “Paint By Numbers” is also a vocally heavier ballad in comparison to the laid-back, almost EDM influenced sounds of the rest of the album. 

In “Aperture”, Styles chooses important one liners to pop out at listeners such as “We belong together” and in “Dance No More” the line “Respect your mother” is repeated throughout in a chant-like manner. Listeners can’t help but take note of the message of these lines.  

In typical Styles fashion as well, there are still some pop bangers that I can only imagine jamming out to while on a long summer drive with friends. In particular “Ready, Steady, Go!” and “American Girls” have the energy of an instant hit, while still maintaining the laid-back vibes of the rest of the album. 

My favorite song after my first several listens is by far and away “Coming Up Roses”, with its haunting plucking sounds throughout and powerful, yet simple lyrics that tell the story of a new love on the horizon that seems to be going well, but Styles being afraid that something so good might come to an end. 

“And everything seems to be comin’ up roses / But I’m scared if we’re both right / Does that mean we’re not aligned?” Styles sings, later following that up with “There’s only me and you.” Perhaps the reason that this song feels so distinctly Harry Styles stylistically is because Styles is the sole songwriter on this track. The instrumentation is minimal and his vocals are powerful, a sharp contrast to the rest of the album. 

Styles seems to be particularly proud of this track. In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, he said, “one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. The kind of writing of it was really something that just happened. Like that was one of those that felt like it just fell out, and then you’re like reading the lyrics back, and I’m like learning something as I’m doing it. I’m like, oh, magic.” 

While sonically distinct in comparison to past projects like “Harry’s House” or “Fine Line,” Styles still collaborated with Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson, two collaborators that he has worked with for years, which helped maintain a sense of familiarity throughout the album. 

As a songwriter myself, I know that when I have experimented sonically, that experimentation is often reflective of an emotional change in my own life. As an outsider listening in, it seems to me that Styles went through something similar when making this album. After the heightened intensity of doing a massive tour, Styles has clearly engaged in lots of self-reflection, which has led to such a sonic shift. 

Even if many fans were left underwhelmed by this album, I have enjoyed this album immensely and fully intend to play this album on repeat for the foreseeable future.