Harry Styles Debut Album Review
The sky is blue, the grass is a little greener BECAUSE MY HARRY STYLES HAS RELEASED HIS DEBUT SOLO ALBUM.
I was so excited when I heard the news. It had been more
than a year since the One Direction hiatus started and there was no telling
when my favorite One Direction member would release new music. But that day is finally here!!! and I am ready to jot all my thoughts about it on paper.
And here starts Harry Styles Month (or more!!!!!) on this
blog. Tune in for some surprises 😉. Let’s kick it off with…. Every Song Off Of
Harry Styles, the album RANKED by yours truly.
((also don’t forget to vote on the poll to your right!!!))
10) Sweet Creature
Sweet Creature was Harry’s second single off the album. I
was so happy about the first single, Sign of the Times, I was disappointed when
I couldn’t get into this song. I suppose it’s a little slow for me. I think
even on the first listen I couldn’t help but stop paying attention. And when re-visiting
the lyrics, nothing jumps up at me. When it comes to slow songs, I need
excellent lyrics to keep me awake and in tune with the music.
Also, Is it just me but does this song remind you of a One
Direction song? I’m not sure which one but when I listen to it, I always feel
like I’ve heard it before.
9) Woman
This is the song everyone says has duck voices!! And that is
what makes this song unique musically. He says the word, “Woman” a lot, so
lyrically, I don’t think there’s much here for me to enjoy. Harry’s upset about
seeing his ex-lover with a new man. I guess it’s number 9 because, lyrically,
it’s pretty basic. I still enjoy the song though - musically it's quite fun.
8) Ever Since New York
Though Sweet Creature was Harry’s second single, Ever Since
New York was the second song I heard on the album overall thanks to Harry’s appearance
on SNL. Though this song is number 9 on my list, I liked this song a lot. I
like most of the songs on this list no matter which number they are which is a
testament to how great this album really is. (except for Sweet Creature lmao I
skip that song every time sorry).
I listened to Ever Since New York on repeat after the video
appeared on SNL’s Youtube page. It felt deep and meaningful. Harry sang it with
heart. Interestingly enough, I thought the studio version was a little better
because it captured the sadness of the song more. The way Harry says “New York”
is just sad on the studio version and I like it better that way. In the live
version, he doesn’t have that same inflection.
Why is this song number 9? I suppose it’s very vague. “Oh,
tell me something I don't already know.“ What is it that this person is telling
Harry that he already knows? I can’t deduce from this song.
I do like how it’s full of metaphors but I guess I wasn’t
smart enough to interpret the metaphors right away and truly connect to the
song. I do give Harry props for writing this beautiful poem.
“Brooklyn saw me, empty at the news/There's no water inside
this swimming pool.” I had no idea what this line meant but someone told me it’s
about Harry crying. Beautifully put, Harry.
7) Meet Me In The Hallway
Meet Me In the Hallway is a great opening song – when I
heard it, I got excited for the album. Musically, I like how this song is
very varied. The music goes from slow to fast to slow, which keeps this small
attention span happy. Lyrically, Harry sounds vulnerable. “I gotta get better, gotta get better/And
maybe we'll work it out.” I like how Harry is being vulnerable and says that he
needs to get better in order for the relationship to work which shows how committed
and centered he is trying to revive a broken relationship.
6) From the Dining Room Table
This is an example of a slow song that does a good job at
capturing and keeping my attention. It starts off slow, but the melody does
pick when he starts singing “Maybe one day you'll call me and tell me that
you're sorry too.” I like the lyrics a lot as well. “Even my phone misses your
call by the way.” Listening to this song, you feel sad for Harry that this
person won’t call him up and I'm sure many people can relate to it.
5) Only Angel
This song starts of slow with calming angelic (pun intended)
music and then suddenly you’re hit with a surprise – you hear Harry truly embrace
rock and roll music. I love the rock!Harry that is fully alive during this
song.
Fun fact: One Direction’s Hey Angel on Made In The A.M is
what made me become a Directioner and is also the song that made me fall in
love with Harry. The fact that Harry has a song that is a similar title makes
me think Harry was more involved in making Hey Angel than most people believe.
4) Sign of the Times
I loved this song as a first single!!! It shows that Harry
Styles is ready to make unique, interesting music. I like that Harry chose one
of the only songs that isn’t about romance for his first single. Boybands do
have a reputation for singing about romance to appease their female fans and by
making this the first single Harry challenges that.
There is nothing basic about this song. The music is
captivating with it’s many tempo changes. The lyrics are great; they make me
feel the same vibe as Imagine Dragon’s Radioactive. There’s an urgency, a sense
of danger like you are really running from an apocalypse. Once again the lyrics
are a little unclear -we don’t know what exactly he’s talking about but the
vibes are still all there.
3) Kiwi
The two most rock and roll songs on this album are Only Angel
and Kiwi, and I think Kiwi is the better one. I love how up-tempo and “in your
face” this song is. Harry mentioned that he wrote this song sorta as a joke.
Looks like I keep on LOVING “joke” songs from my favorite artists. (See Blank
Space by Taylor Swift). It’s really fun singing “SHE SAID I’M HAVING YOUR BABY
IT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.” The joke about Holland Tunnel made me laugh and
think. I love fun songs from Harry as evidenced by my next pick...
2) Carolina
When I saw this song performed on the Today show, I fell in
love with it. After Sign of the Times and Sweet Creature and Every Since New York, I
wanted a happier song. I think Carolina is the happiest song on the album. It
just has a catchy, fun vibe to it. I like the pun Harry makes with “Townes,
better swim before you drown" if Townes really is the name of the girl he
is writing about. I’m sure Harry LOVED putting that pun in.
1) Two Ghosts
I know that this may be a controversial thing to say, but
this is the only song on the album that made me feel something. I’m not saying
I didn’t like the rest of the album. Let me tell you, I really LOVED and
ENJOYED this album. It’s fun, the music is great, the lyrics paint great
stories. But Two Ghosts is the only story that I could relate to. One beef that
I have with Harry’s song writing is that his stories are either too specific
that I can’t relate to them or too vague that I have no idea what he’s talking
about. Here we find a balance. “We're just two ghosts standing in the place of
you and me/Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat” is a simple
line that we can understand and relate to.
Also, I love when Harry pauses between “Heart” and “Beat” towards the end of the song. Harry is so extra. (and so am I so I love it ❤).
Great album, Harry. 4.5/5 stars. I enjoyed almost every song and I'm excited to see what he does next.
