Harry Styles Didn’t Make a Disco Album. He Made Something More Relatable.
There’s no other place on earth like the sidewalk outside of a bar. I’ve perhaps spent more time there, in fact, than inside the bar. I’ve pressed my back against humidity-wet walls, let the night air cool my flushed cheeks, and tangle my sweat-damp hair. I’ve worked up a sweat on the dance floor and then felt it dry rapidly under streetlights that would have looked like stars if I were just a little drunker.
It’s an interesting feeling— to be just outside the bar. To have its scent on your clothes, and its music ringing in your ears, taking a break while the party rages on on the other side of the wall. That’s the space where you giggle and take a drag off of someone else’s cigarette because you’re just tipsy enough that it doesn’t count. It’s where you kick off your shoes and fire off a few ill-advised texts. It’s where you decide if you’re going to kiss the person you’ve been flirting with all night. It’s where you can either go back inside or call a car, and both options sound just as fabulous. There’s really no place on earth like the sidewalk just outside the bar. And Harry’s fourth album, Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally (henceforth referred to as KissCo), grabs you by the wrist and takes you there.
KissCo has been met with mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. I attribute this much more to the album’s marketing than to its content. From its early ad campaigns, notably pictures of fans sharing uninhibited kisses on dance floors, KissCo seemed to be a love letter to the club rat culture of decades past– a call to arms to get off of our smart devices and onto a dance floor. Fans expected an album full of synthy pop goliaths that could serve as a score to their upcoming summers. I, myself, was looking forward to a disco summer.
And yes, there are certainly songs on the album that have quickly earned the “certified banger” designation. Ready, Steady, Go, Dance No More, and Pop are all equal parts sensual and deliciously dancey. They are production powerhouses and addictively upbeat. They pair perfectly with a glass of white wine and the contents of your makeup bag spread out in front of a mirror while you get ready to meet your friends for a night out. They also, notably, have become fixtures on my very carefully curated morning pump-up playlist. Harry Styles did, somewhat misguidedly, promise us a dance album. And, at least on those counts, he delivered in spades.
However, most of the album can be summed up in a word that isn’t immediately reflected in KissCo’s marketing: reflective. Songs like Paint by Numbers and Carla’s Song speak to very relatable themes– trying and failing to live up to expectations, and how magical it feels to connect with friends, respectively. The lead single, Aperture, is the thesis of the album and a love letter to, to quote the hook, letting the light in.
Harry Styles took a long break between his explosive run of Love On Tour and this album cycle. By his own account, he took time to reconnect with reality and to rediscover just how momentous good music can be. In this interview cycle, he has spoken extensively about how isolating it has been to be in the spotlight–constantly missing friends, saying no to invitations, and living in a bubble on tour. He spent his break learning what it feels like to just say yes to invitations and experiences, while also learning how to be alone and be at peace.
I think that is what fans are really hearing on this record. Harry Styles decided to make a party album, but he self-admittedly has no idea what it feels like to party as a regular person. He has spent much of his youth and all of his adulthood on the outside, watching real life and real fun from the periphery. That’s exactly what KissCo sounds like…someone who desperately wants to be having a good time at the club, but isn’t exactly sure how to do that.
As a commentary on burnout, isolation, and the unrelenting freedom of just saying yes, KissCo works really well. But this commentary can feel out of step with the momentous pop moments that are, somewhat sparingly, interlaced throughout the album.
Do I think KissCo is Harry Styles’ magnum opus? No. Lyrically, his past albums were much stronger. But Harry Styles admitted that he has spent much of the last three years being just some guy who really enjoys listening to LCD Soundsystem. And, well, it shows. It shows in those less-poetic lyrics and the larger-than-life, disco-inspired production. Whereas past albums prioritized storytelling, I think KissCo is a much more production-focused album. When it works, it works really well. But, it does make me miss the gutpunch of From the Dining Table, Falling or Matilda. Interestingly, in an interview, Styles mentions that there once existed a more lyrically-focused version of KissCo, which he describes as “very introspective.” And yes, part of me wonders what Harry Styles was thinking about during his break from the spotlight and what art was born from those thoughts. However, I think what KissCo lacks in lyricism, it fails to make up for in fun. It gets close; It really does. But I think Styles was at a fork in the road: make a reflective album about the isolation of celebrity, or make a dance album full of certified pop-deliciousness. Ultimately, I think he toed the line in a way that just barely missed the mark.
Though its reception has been somewhere between rapturous and icy, I ultimately think KissCo was a satisfying return for Harry Styles. While yes, a sexy dance album would have eased the ache of these trying times…so does KissCo. I think many of us are just trying our best to connect with ourselves, our loved ones, and, if the mood strikes, an old situationship or two. And I think we’re doing it in a way that’s a little incohesive and a little clunky, and I think we’re brave for taking the risk. That’s the vibe Styles manages to capture.
So, no, the new Harry Styles album isn’t a disco. It’s the smoke break just outside, with the rest of the night stretched out before you. You can choose to go back inside and give yourself over to the magnetic appeal of a sweaty crowd and craft cocktails. Or you can call a car, go home, and reflect on your life to the sound of your favorite record. There is a time and place for decisions, and Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally makes the heroic effort of being the perfect soundtrack for either choice. From here, it’s up to you.
This was written by our contributing writer, Kate Schifano.
Image Source: Pexels, KoolShooters
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