Harry Styles first solo album titled Harry Styles, was highly anticipated by dedicated one directioners and music lovers. I’m a one directioner but I was skeptical of this album. I thought it would sound just like One Direction’s albums of the past but with only Harry Styles singing. I was wrong. This album is a complete 180 from any other One Direction album and made me feel like Harry Styles should’ve went solo a long time ago.
There are only 10 songs on the album but they’re all beautifully different. “Sign of the Times” was the first single before the album’s release, and it provided the first hint that this would not be another teen bop album. I had chills when I first heard the song. In an interview Styles said the song was about a mother dying during childbirth. That is what made the song so emotional: the premise behind it. But that wasn’t even the best track off the album in my opinion.
Styles incorporates lots of Britpop sounds in it. The songs “Carolina” and “Woman” reminded me of David Bowie. The guitar sounds and the vibes in it remind me of Bowie. This album had lots of Britpop and Rolling Stones from the seventies influences in it. While it does have those inspirations in it, Styles still keeps the album his own.
The song that totally threw me for a loop was the song “Kiwi.” The song left me speechless after hearing it. In my opinion it’s a little out of place on the album. It’s so repetitive. Don’t get me wrong it’s catchy it’s just doesn’t match up to the other tracks on the album.
When I listened to the album again, all the songs were so good I didn’t know which one was my favorite. “Two Ghosts” is a very personal song, speculated to be about Style’s relationship with Taylor Swift. In the song Styles says “same lips red, same eyes blue,” which would make sense if it was about Taylor Swift. In “Only Angel” Styles describes a mystery girl and says “I must admit I thought I’d like to make you mine.” The very beginning of the song starts off slow but then turns into a fast melody.
Not liking One Direction shouldn’t influence your decision to listen to this album. Harry Styles has proven he’s grown up and moved on to bigger and better things.
Tracks to listen to: “Two Ghosts” and “Only Angel”
Rating: 9/10
