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Stepping away from music for four years has allowed Harry Styles to experiment with new music genres in his recent album release, “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occassionally.”
Styles said his fifth album is inspired by LCD Soundsystem, according to a recent interview with Zane Lowe and Apple Music. The new album features 12 songs, most built around joyful and funky grooves.
Before the album’s March 6 release, Styles introduced the record with the lead single “Aperture,” an electronic and synth-filled song about embracing vulnerability, taking risks and allowing positivity into one’s life.
Styles said the pressure to produce music and perform constantly made him question whether he was creating out of passion or priority, also according to the mentioned interview. Through this period of self-reflection, Styles ultimately reconnected with his artistry and created music that felt authentic.
Styles has attempted to enter into the world of alternative dance music, with ballads such as “Aperture”, “Ready, Steady, Go!” and “Dance No More.” Each of these songs displays fun electronic music — unlike any other songs he has released — with the goal of mimicking music played in dance clubs.
“I wanted to recreate [what] I had on the dance floor, being lost in instrumentation and the musicality,” Styles said in an interview with Runner’s World. “It was so immersive, like, this is how I want to feel when I’m on stage too.”
Along with these new and fun upbeat sounds, Styles has also released slowed-down ballads such as “Coming Up Roses” and “Paint By Numbers.” Particularly with “Coming Up Roses,” Styles has proven he can unlock his full potential in producing a powerful and emotional song.
“Coming Up Roses” uniquely features an orchestra, where Styles passionately sings about experiencing doubt and vulnerability in a relationship.
In a similar bittersweet fashion, Styles shows growth and vulnerability in “Paint By Numbers,” which alludes to his former One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne and his unexpected death in 2024.
With the lyrics in Verse 2, “It’s a little bit complicated,” “When they put an image in your head,””and now you’re stuck with it,” and “You’re the luckiest, oh, the irony,” fans have theorized the song details Styles’ time in One Direction and how he has dealt with his fame.
Overall, pop sensation and heartthrob Harry Styles has hit the charts on Billboard Hot 100, and is guaranteed to be successful on his upcoming “Together, Together” Tour.
His tour features a sold-out 30-show residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City, breaking Ticketmaster records for the highest-ever presale volume in addition to 37 other tour dates across 10 different cities, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Contact Catie Baur via email: catie.baur@pepperdine.edu