Harry Styles has spent the last few years in a position most pop stars would envy. His previous album, Harry’s House, was not just a commercial success but a cultural one, spawning era defining singles and cementing Styles as a pop star who could step beyond his former boyband orbit. It was polished, confident and widely adored. So when whispers of a more electronic direction for his latest release began circulating, the question felt genuinely intriguing. Would a pivot toward synth led pop alienate the easy listening crowd that embraced his last record, or would it expand his reach into something fresher and more adventurous?
The album opens with Aperture, a slow burning track that feels indebted to the sleek electronic pulse of Hot Chip. It builds patiently before blooming into a surprisingly anthemic chorus, suggesting that Styles might be about to step into a more rhythm driven and modern sonic space. For a moment it feels promising, like the album might lean further into this shimmering electronic palette.
Unfortunately that promise fades fairly quickly. The ballads Coming Up Roses and Paint by Numbers stall the album’s momentum almost entirely. Both are polite and neatly produced but they feel lifeless, dragging the pacing down and interrupting what little flow the record manages to build. In truth the problem is not just the placement of these songs. The album as a whole feels like a bit of a slog.
Beyond the lead single there is very little that genuinely grabs the attention. The songs drift past pleasantly enough but rarely leave any lasting imprint. At times Styles even sounds oddly disengaged, as though he is moving through the motions rather than inhabiting the music. It is a surprising contrast to the easy charm and sense of presence that carried much of his previous record.
The closing track Carla’s Song does at least provide a sense of symmetry. It mirrors the atmosphere of the opening track and acts as a gentle bookend, bringing the album full circle in tone and texture. In isolation it works nicely and hints at the more cohesive electronic direction the album seemed to promise at the outset.
But that promise ultimately remains unfulfilled. The record teases a shift in soundscape for Styles yet never commits to it strongly enough to feel like a true evolution. Instead it sits awkwardly close to the territory of his last album, just without the same spark. On Harry’s House, Styles sounded relaxed and confident. Here he often sounds like he would rather be somewhere else.
2/5
