Album Review: Harry Styles - Harry Styles

Harry Styles is a singer, songwriter from Worcestershire, England. In 2010, Harry auditioned for The X-Factor as a soloist, but failing to progress through the competition, was put into a group with four others of a similar age, thus forming One Direction. One Direction finished third place in the competition and shortly after were signed to Syco Records.

In 2011, they began recording their debut album, 'Up All Night'. Followed by the second, 'Take Me Home' in 2012. 2013 brought the third album, 'Midnight Memories'. Not failing to release an album a year, 2014 brought the fourth and final album as a five piece, 'Four'. Zayn Malik, later left to pursue other career options. In 2015, the last album, as One Direction, came, 'Made In The A.M.'.

After a planned hiatus starting at the beginning of 2016, it was revealed that Harry had signed a recording contract with Columbia Records, as a solo artist. He began writing songs with other songwriters, including, OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, as well as writing for other artists, including Michael Buble.

Track Listing:

1. Meet Me In The Hallway

2. Sign Of The Times

3. Carolina

4. Two Ghosts

5. Sweet Creature

6. Only Angel

7. Kiwi

8. Ever Since New York

9. Woman

10. From The Dining Table

The opening song on the album is 'Meet Me In The Hallway'. I love the count in at the beginning, it brings a realistic, live feel to the song. With the added guitar, it gives off an old school, 1980's feels to it. I'm not overly big on the echo/effect on his vocals, it muffles what he is saying. I also found that it sounded quite similar to 'Sign Of The Times', in terms of his vocals. I do, however, love the country feel. The lyrics made me think that the song was about after a break-up or argument with a S.O?

The second song on the album is Harry's first single he released as a solo artist, 'Sign Of The Times'. I already reviewed this song when it first came out. You can find that here. The only thing I would add on to this, is that I didn't realise how long the song actually is!

'Carolina' is the third song on the album. My first thought was, "Wow, this is funky". I love the 80's vibe this song also brings. I love his vocals in this. It strangely reminded me of Bruno Mars? Anyone else hear it? It is a very different song, with it's own unique twist to it.

'Two Ghosts' is a much slower song, with the focus being on the lyrics and vocals. I love the lyrics and the story/emotions they are portraying. I think this might be my favourite song on the album. It suits his vocals so much, and the production to it is so simple.

The fifth song, 'Sweet Creature', was also another that was released before the album, which I have also done a review on here.

'Only Angel' was a song that surprised me, I really wasn't expecting it to be the way it is, especially after the beginning of the album. This is where the 'rock' genre really kicks in. I found the beginning weird, it had the 'angel' type effect, like a church choir, and it was slowly building up, then BAM, it turns into a proper rock song. I absolutely love this song and his vocals. They are so diverse, really showing off his vocal range. The lyrics are quite saucy, but it fits.

The seventh song on the album is 'Kiwi'. It is another rock song, similar to 'Only Angel'. Once again, it has the typical rock lyrics to it, but his vocals do suit it. It is quite a step away from One Direction, which makes me think, is he trying to break away from the boy-band image, and go all bad boy? It is a very catchy song, and I can see why people have been raving about it on Twitter. One thing I didn't like was the background screaming. I think it ruined the song slightly. I was quite surprised it was only 2:56 minutes because it felt like it went on forever. Maybe it was because it was so repetitive?

The eighth song is 'Ever Since New York'. It is quite a step down from the previous two songs, going back to a slower, more simple song. I like the beat and the lyrics. His pronunciation is very clear and crisp, making the lyrics easy to understand. However, the lyrics themselves, are difficult for me to understand, unless they are to be interpreted by everyone differently? I like that it is a nice slow song, and it is nice to have a similar consistency of tempo throughout after the rock songs.

'Woman', is a song that I had heard prior to listening to the album. Well I say this, I heard a snippet through Snapchat. It is such a catchy songs, and I love the 'la la la' in the chorus. The lyrics are great and the beat drives the song, which is a nice change. It is another simple song, but so different and unique. I found it a very hypnotising, yet satisfying song to listen to.

The last song on the album is 'From The Dining Table'. I found this song to be very quiet, yet mesmerising and sort of experimental. It is a song that I've not heard anything similar to. It was nice to just have his voice and the guitar, but it building in the middle, where he layers his voice, and some strings are added to the mix. It sounds very emotional and the lyrics are quite descriptive, which I love.

The album itself has a range of genres in it. To me I thought it was alternative/indie, or trying to recreate some older songs (from the 1980's), but as I got into it more it became apparent that it was more of a rock album. I guess it's good because it means there is a song for everyone, but because there are so many genres it's hard to see what Harry really sounds like (if you get that?). It just confused me a little bit. However, despite this, I loved this album, and I am so stunned at all the different songs from it! Harry is going to do so well in his solo career, which is becoming more and more noticeable as each day goes by! I am going to give this album 5/5 stars, it's such a great record.