Even though a tour doesn’t look promising for the near future, we can still talk about the music we can’t wait to see live, right? Here is my exceptionally late review of Harry Styles’ newest album:
Overall, I LOVE it. I think the order of the songs tells such a beautiful story. We travel from infatuation to love to heartbreak to acceptance to moving on. The vibe of each song reflects the mood he’s going through which is all connected by the lyrics. While some of the songs can get a little repetitive, I think each has such a vivid story that can relate to the listeners in different stages of life.
Song by song thoughts:
Golden — WHAT A START PEOPLE! So poppy and energetic. Here he is encouraging another person to embrace their vulnerability. He wants us to enjoy the moment because everything is fleeting. It reminds me of how golden hour is so beautiful but doesn’t last long so we need to hold onto it while it’s here. The object of the song is “golden” aka the fleeting beauty.
Watermelon Sugar — This is carefree, summer lovin’ vibes. The horn section in this one is ~ everything ~ and gets me dancing every time.
Adore You — Reminds me of how I feel towards my dog when she doesn’t want to hang out with me. He is in love with someone who is unaware/doesn’t care/will not be bothered with his emotions, but that does not stop him from loving him/her/it with all his being. If you haven’t seen the video, stop everything and watch it here. You’re welcome.
Lights Up — Here is suddenly super introspective. We get a peek into his subconscious while he questions so many decisions and who he is as a person. It sparks the question of how confident we are in ourselves when the opinions of everyone else seep into our brains. Do you know yourself enough to not let those opinions form the one you have about yourself?
Cherry — One of my favorites. I love the imagery we get here. I can’t help but be heartbroken for him when he says he misses her accent and her friends. The song is almost a James Taylor/Paul McCartney vibe with the imagery and the soothing tone of his voice.
Falling — This one just kiLLS. The memory of the one he loved and coming to terms with the fact that she doesn’t need him anymore. Had me feeling too sad for weeks.
To Be So Lonely — Vibe switch here! Now he is over her?? A beautiful change of tone that gives new hope to the listener. Also the percussion repetitions really bring everything together. (I know nothing about music production so you probably make these with a keyboard or computer of some sort?)
She — My other favorite on the album. The instrumental at the end really gets me going. It gives me Eleanor Rigby vibes. Creating a vision of this perfect woman he doesn’t even know but fantasizes about. He is falling in love with the “idea” of a person instead of the person in front of you which evokes these expectations of people that we make up in our heads.
Sunflower Vol. 6 — Upbeat and optimistic but also a little nervous about the future? @everyone, especially us with the post-grad scaries. The strange noises at the end are great and grab my dog’s attention each time.
Canyon Moon — Love this moon title. I feel like I’m on a summer vacation with my family because of the breezy and carefree tones throughout bringing him back somewhere with less stress. *goes to happy place*
Treat People With Kindness — Suddenly we are in a MUSICAL! I can imagine the dancers shuffling across the stage with props in an opening sequence and HS breaking through the middle with a top hat, cane and gigantic smile across his face.
Fine Line — We’ve come to the calming end, giving us time and space to evaluate what we just experienced. He leaves us with an encouraging “we’ll be alright” to move on with our days. Isn’t everything a fine line??
These are simply my thoughts and interpretations of the songs and are not affiliated with Harry Styles at all (even though I wish he had given me his input.)
Here is an interview by Zane Lowe with Harry. Highly recommend for some beautiful content and insights into the writing process.
Originally published at https://teenystinythoughts.squarespace.com on February 7, 2020.
