Singer/songwriter Harry Styles’s long awaited fourth studio album “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally” was released on Friday, March 6 following the earlier drop of the lead single “Aperture.” The album was his first release after “Harry’s House” in 2022 and features funky indie-pop and sometimes dance elements that make it stand out in Styles’s discography while still maintaining his signature flair that fans know and love.
The single “Aperture” and its music video were released in January, and while I loved parts of it, I found its length of over five minutes made it something that I would reach for less on my own playlists. With regards to the length and pacing of the album as a whole, I thought it was perfectly executed. I could listen to all of the songs consecutively without feeling over or underwhelmed and each track held its own amongst the others.
From the time that the album was announced, the general marketing and fan response gave the impression that we were getting a fun, upbeat pop album. After listening, I would say that the title’s claim of “Disco, Occasionally” makes sense considering there were few upbeat dance songs on the album. Tracks like “Pop” and “Dance No More” — a fan favorite — were along the lines of what I personally was expecting from this album, while the majority of the rest of the track list was much more subdued than I was led to expect.
As far as lyrics are concerned, “Coming Up Roses” stood out to me as the star. Its slower pace and string instrumentals set it apart from the rest of the album, which maintained a more electronic feel. The rest of the lyrics of the album were good, but sometimes repetitive. The sounds and vibe of the album to me far outshone the impact of the lyrics. “Paint by Numbers” is another slower song on the album and is also the shortest of the 12 songs. I found that the slower songs sounded a bit more intentional lyrically and had less of a repetitive nature in comparison to some other songs.
On my first listen, my favorite was “Taste Back,” track five. After listening some more, I’ve come to enjoy most of the songs on the album. As a whole, it is an easy and fun listen. To me, the album is more of a listening in the car experience than dancing at the disco, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.
