Harry Styles

Week 21: Harry Styles- Harry’s House

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment
I expect this to be a short review, but we will see where the mood takes me. I reviewed his first album in 2017 and said it surprised me. He seemed to shun everything One Direction and head into Indie and Rock for his second record. On the same level as Niall Horan? Well, that’s hard to say. Niall is naturally a fan of the Indie scene. His third offering, “Harry’s House”, is a bit of a mixed bag of Indie, funk, and folk to show he is quite capable of being a versatile artist.

I found it quite funny that the opener and teaser were named after a Liam Gallagher documentary about his “As You Were”tour. The single happens to be called ‘As it Was’; honestly, it isn’t great. The song’s premise, according to Harry, was how the pandemic has changed the world and how we are not the same individuals that we were before. 

This can be found in the lyrics, so what it lacks instrumentally makes up for lyrically.

Upon the end of One Direction (For now.), Harry could have continued to make that kind of music, but he opted to draw on his influences across a vast array of genres, and as mentioned earlier, “Harry’s House” focuses on funk, folk, and a little indie.

Let’s talk about ‘Matilda’, an acoustic song where the subject matter is a male. This is based on an experience of Harry’s, who is begging his girlfriend to leave her family life because she is being mistreated. The girlfriend is Matilda. He showcases his poetry prowess on ‘Satellite’ and ‘Cinema’. 

What I like about “Harry’s House”, although it tends to get boring after the halfway mark, is that he doesn’t appear to give a shit about making chart-friendly songs. This album showcases his versatility, and it seems more of a deep conversation with Harry than generic pop for the sake of it. 

As I said, this would be a short(ish)review, and I have nothing more to say save that the best part of the record is before the halfway mark. 

After that, the album loses its power and your interest.

Song recommendations: ‘Music for a Sushi Restaurant’, ‘Little Freak’, ‘Matilda’

6/10

Week Twenty: Harry Styles- Harry Styles

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

HarryStyles-albumcover

I must admit that even though I could tolerate One Direction for an hour of listening to one of their albums, I wasn’t expecting what I heard on Harry Styles’ debut record. I was expecting more of the same of what One Direction is known for, but this record took me entirely by surprise. I thought Niall Horan would be the one to do a rock solo album; after all, he is known for being heavily into his indie and even covered a version of “Wonderwall” in One Direction, much to the chagrin of several Oasis fans. Still, Harry has gone for the rock route, and it works very well, which I think might appeal to others more than the ones labelled “Directioners”.

The music is heavily influenced by the Eagles, Warren Zevon, Motley Crew and even a little pinch of Elton John. It is a very mature-sounding record for this day and age, and that may be to do with the fact he has grown up since 2011. It could also be down to the fact that now he is solo, he has free reign over his direction and creativity. There’s even country music thrown into the record, which can be heard on “Two Ghosts” and “Sweet Creature”; the latter may be about his ex and country music star, Taylor Swift (Yes, even though her music seems extremely bubblegum pop, Taylor cut her teeth on the country music circuit doing countless gigs before finally catching someone’s ear in the mainstream.). There’s also a nod to Bon Iver with “From the Dining Table”. You can see just by the artists I have mentioned in the review that Harry has a broader taste in music, which we didn’t see in One Direction.

Then Harry has moments of full-on rock with “Only Angel”, drawing inspiration from ZZ Top’s sound. Some raunchy and no-limits lyrics on “Kiwi” crashing against Aerosmith-inspired guitar licks, and then on “Carolina”, We can hear the mid-1990s have influenced Harry—an astounding debut album for those who aren’t really into One Direction. Nonetheless, the record has attitude, swagger and maturity. The influences he has been inspired by are certainly a departure from the bubblegum pop he was accustomed to with One Direction. If this is how he means to go on, he has a tough act to follow with his second record. I don’t think he even cares about those who say these artists don’t belong in the rock arena has to say, neither. If he wants to go in that direction, I think he should be left alone to do as he pleases.

8/10