Album review: Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.
Harry Styles’ fourth studio album is a delightful masterpiece with a couple of perfect tracks
The former One Direction band member brought dance-pop energy with his latest release. (Sony Music)
“Are You Listening Yet?” to Harry Styles’ new album?
If not, I hope you do, so we can meet at the disco and dance the night away (occasionally!) to all of his new hits.
Styles’ fourth studio album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., released on March 6 — and the soulful, funky-beat vibe he was going for definitely hit the mark.
After Styles’ third studio album, Harry’s House, was released in 2022, my hopes for this new album skyrocketed.
Harry’s House had major hits like “As It Was” and “Late Night Talking” that made me want to jump to the ceiling. But songs “Aperture” and “American Girls” from his new album made me want to jump even higher.
There are no skips on this album, and I have been listening to it on repeat since it came out. There are three works of art (aka my favourites) on the album that I know will continue to blow up my bluetooth speaker.
The first is “Are You Listening Yet?” Its beat and lyrics grabbed my attention right off the bat. I can just picture the crowd at one of Styles’ shows, going crazy and jumping around like they have nothing left to lose. Let’s be real — a whole audience shouting the song’s title question would probably blow the roof off a stadium.
This song is the pick-me-up tune we all need on a rainy, gloomy day. How can you not groove and dance to its beat? The song is infectious. Also, the little guitar solo near the end was the cherry on top of this already perfect bop. No bad notes for this one. It’s a 10/10.
Styles could release an album of pure beats and no lyrics, and I would still listen to it — and “Taste Back” is a pure example of that.
The techno beat in the beginning instantly grabs my attention every single time I listen to it. It’s another great lift-me-up song for a rainy day, but I can see it having a chill summer vibe as well.
We all need a little love, and this song gives us that much-needed serotonin boost. Again, no bad notes. This song is also a 10/10.
Then, there’s “Dance No More.” What did Styles put in this song? Because all I want to do is clap, roll my shoulders, and do a groovy dance when it comes on.
I can picture Styles shouting, “DJs don’t dance no more, they said,” and the crowd shouting the lyrics back even louder.
What a vibe this song is — and with some good advice in there, too: always respect your mother! This is a windows-down, turn-up-the-volume, honk-the-car-horn kind of song. How can you not feel immediately happy after hearing it? This is hands down my favourite on the album. A certified 100,000/10.
Most of the songs on this album are an instant mood-booster, and I will be having it on repeat for the rest of the year.
Overall, I give this album a 9.5/10. The reason I would not give it a perfect score is that there are a few songs on the album, such as “Paint by Numbers” and “Carla’s Song,” that I am not completely hooked on, but in a few weeks’ time, that will probably be a different story.
Does this record top Styles’ previous albums? Not necessarily, but it sits on the same line as they do — another vibey, dance-worthy lyrical masterpiece from Mr. Styles.
