Starting from the upbeat new single As It Was to multiple ballads, in his new album Harry Styles portrays his feelings and journey over these past few years as a human and as an artist.
Harry Styles’ third album Harry’s House represents where Styles wants to be in his life and his musical vision. This album feels like a party and a warm hug at the same time. It contains 13 tracks, produced by such famous names as Kid Harpoon, Tayler Johnson, and Samuel Witte.
The album starts with the song Music for Sushi Restaurant which has an upbeat vibe and a more complex melody. In this song, Harry has chosen to experiment with his vocal range. Whereas in Late-Night Talking, the beat gives more emphasis to the lyrics. It just feels like you are reading a love letter, where the narrator shares his regrets and his sorrow. To be more specific, he asks for a second chance when he sings, “Now you’re in my life, can’t get you off my mind, won’t even try, to get you off my mind.”
The two songs that left a mark on his album are As It Was and Matilda. As It Was became the first single to be highly praised by the audience and critics from this album. Just like Grape Juice, this song leaves us to reminisce and look at the past. He said that he wrote the song when he was feeling very vulnerable and was reflecting on the past. Matilda was named after the character of Roald Dahl’s book of the same name. Matilda is portrayed as someone who faced life problems bravely.
The album ends with the song Love of my Life. This is a song about homesickness and lovesickness at the same time. He used lovesickness to write about his longing for his home country England. He said that he always wanted to write about home and this was the perfect fit. It might sound like this song is an ode to love, but actually, it is addressed to the place where Harry feels safe.
The Bridge Between Fine Line and Harry’s House
A hidden link connects Harry Styles’ penultimate album with the last one. The first song on the Fine Line album is related to the first song on the Harry’s House album. If you listen to the song Fine Line and Music for Sushi Restaurant you can notice that they give you the same vibe. Both have the smooth vibes of funky, pop, and jazz music.
In one of the interviews for Zane Lowe, Styles said that he likes to leave the audience in suspense at the end of the album. Since Fine Line ends with a beat that doesn’t have a clear ending, Music for Sushi Restaurant continues with it, in a way finishing the storyline. The story in Fine Line ends with a melancholic tone, whereas Music For Sushi Restaurant continues with a story that has an upbeat tone. The narrator tries to ask for forgiveness instead of promising his lover that things will change.
The Elevated Style of Lyricism
When you pay attention to the lyrics, it feels like you’re a part of it. The way he incorporates the words allows the audience to create a vision of that story. Take as an example the song Matilda. It feels like Matilda is someone that you know and her story connects immediately with you.
This characteristic needs to be emphasized because Harry Styles was more courageous in playing with the words this time. He wrote the lyrics that were dearest to his heart. It’s quite clear that this kind of energy and honesty was transmitted to the audience as well.
In the end, Harry’s House is considered to be a home away from home for the audience. Harry offered a home to the audience while he was searching for his true self: a place to party, cry and feel accepted.
Photo: Debby Wong/Shutterstock
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