Harry Styles’ fourth solo album, “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally,” was released March 6. This is Styles’ first time dropping any kind of music in almost four years after his hit album “Harry’s House.” During his hiatus, Styles was spotted doing lots of odd things around the world. He was spotted riding a lime green bike around all of Europe with former late night host James Corden and offering to help parallel park a stranger’s car (and failing). From shaving off all his hair and being present in Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican City during the announcement of the new Pope, it is safe to say that with all this free time, a new album was overdue.
When the album was first announced, it caused many questions to come up among the fans. Who will be featured on this album? Will any song be related to the passing of former “One Direction” member, Liam Payne? But one question rose above all. His first album “Harry Styles” was soft-rock, “Fine Line” was pop-rock, and “Harry’s House” was a mix of the two. So, what kind of genre is Styles publishing this time? This was answered when his single and first song of the album, “Aperture,” was released. The song had this funky club influence that had fans dancing and celebrating all throughout the world, setting the hype for the album’s release.
The next song titled “American Girls” is a continuation of the same genre as “Aperture,” an indie, dare I say disco, tune. Yet, the song is about watching his friends get married with a deeper meaning of being alone while close friends move onto a new chapter in their lives. Besides having a dejected meaning, the motif of the song was still electronic in the song and throughout the rest of the album.
Another question was answered when track 11, “Paint By Numbers,” came on. With the passing of Styles’ former band member in 2024, it was clear a song would be about the passing of Liam Payne. There were many lyrical references of Payne and their time spent together, lines of “not even thirty-three” and “It’s a lifetime of picking from one or the other kids with water guns” proved so, the water guns line being a callback to the “One Direction” members’ frequent use of water guns on stage during their teenage years.
The album itself was a great way for Styles to get back in the music industry. “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally” is a dance-tastic album that I’d rate a 9/10 and a “no skip album.”
