Harry Styles - Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally

Mar 7

When it comes to smart, deliberate, and bold shifts in musical identity, Harry Styles remains one of the very few figures on the mainstream male pop scene who actually has the courage to pull it off. His new album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally is a perfect example of that.

The record opens with the lead single Aperture, which already received a full review and immediately sets a rather non-trivial tone for the entire album. It almost feels like a deliberate move to put expectations in their place — especially for those who were hoping for another wave of massive pop euphoria similar to "As It Was" from Harry's House or "Watermelon Sugar" from Fine Line.

In many ways, this album might actually be more about the Kiss All The Time part, because disco itself is honestly hard to find here even occasionally. But that seems to be more about the vibe than the literal meaning. And if there’s one thing this album definitely isn’t lacking, it’s vibes. There are plenty of groove-driven tracks here — songs like “Ready, Steady, Go!”, “Dance No More”, and “Are You Listening Yet?” deliver that in abundance. Elsewhere, Styles plays with sound in more unexpected ways, particularly on tracks like “Season 2 Weight Loss”. There’s also a stylish burst of energy on “Pop”, while the album closes in a surprisingly thoughtful and non-ballad way with “Carla's Song”.

Many of these tracks prove that Harry Styles can offer far more than the career of a typical pop star. This is clearly an artist who is interested in evolving and — most importantly — thinking ahead about how he will grow alongside his audience. After all, we’re now talking about a man in his thirties, and maybe at some point it simply stops being interesting to jump around in glittering jackets over a bare chest.

Sometimes you catch moments of reflection right in the middle of the party, and that’s cool. Harry does this in a very honest and vulnerable way, essentially allowing the music itself to reveal his moods and the changes happening in his life. And the musical side of the album is undoubtedly its strongest element. Producers Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson absolutely outdid themselves here, delivering what might be the most interesting sonic palette they’ve ever created with Styles. The grooves are tight, the basslines are fantastic, the guitars and brass arrangements feel alive, and the production is full of clever little tricks that ultimately become the foundation of the entire album.

Lyrically, Styles drifts into reflections on fame, the fleeting nature of life, and the idea that it’s perfectly normal to grow up mentally — to think about responsibility, about yourself, about the people around you, and about what you bring into society and how that society responds in return. In many ways, with this album Harry Styles seems to be trying to put an equal sign between himself and his audience, stepping down to a more interpersonal level with the listener. The record works more like a cohesive experience than a collection of songs.

In fact, this might be the first Harry Styles album that doesn’t have a clear highlight. And that highlight can mean very different things. On Harry's House it was the brilliant “As It Was”, which became one of the biggest hits of the decade. On his debut album, that role belonged to “Sign of the Times”. On Fine Line it was the larger-than-life title track “Fine Line”. Here, there is nothing like that. Instead, the album feels like a smooth, flowing conversation with a friend in a room while the party is happening somewhere next door.

The sonic inspirations are quite clear. You can hear echoes of artists like Tame Impala, Jamie xx, and LCD Soundsystem. At the same time, I also catch dirty-pop hints of Blackout by Britney Spears and flashes of early-2010s indie pop reminiscent of Foster the People. Harry Styles is clearly trying something new here, and he isn’t afraid of how the audience might react to it. And that’s important, because this is an album that definitely won’t be accepted by everyone. There are reasons for that. The record is not perfect. There are weaker tracks like “Taste Back”, “The Waiting Game”, “American Girls”, and the somewhat debatable, in my eyes, “Paint by Numbers”. On the latter, Styles attempts to explore his feelings through the lens of being famous — but it’s a topic I’ve criticized other artists for recently, and I see no reason not to point it out here as well. Right now, it’s just not the easiest subject to connect with: hearing about how difficult it is to be rich and famous, even if those thoughts come from the most honest place in someone’s soul.

This album also doesn’t rely heavily on lyricism. And while that seems intentional, there are moments where I still wish the writing were deeper, tighter, or simply more authentic. Sometimes you read lines that feel like they exist mainly to fill space behind some very impressive instrumentals. Technically, though, this is a very smart and mature step for Harry Styles. He experiments with genres, experiments with his voice, and occasionally even loses the signature tone people associate with him. In some songs he sounds so different that an unprepared listener might not even recognize him.

But that’s also part of the point. This album encourages you to look a little wider than your own expectations of a particular artist and consider the possibility that they might have far more to offer than you initially imagined. Sometimes all it takes is opening your heart a bit — and the artist will open theirs in return. This is a different album. And that’s a good thing.

I will always choose experimentation over a safe, predictable path, even if it means potential commercial failure. Yes, the lyricism doesn’t always land. Yes, the tracklist could have been tighter, and not every song necessarily deserves its place here. But in return we get outstanding production, truly unique vibes, and the beginning of something new — something that will likely become an important step in Harry Styles’ artistic journey going forward, because he is clearly here for the long run.

Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally may not be his most obvious statement, but it might very well end up as one of the hidden gems in the future massive and successful discography he’s building.

7.5/10

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