On March 6, British singer-songwriter Harry Styles released his fourth studio album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally., his latest album since Harry’s House, released in 2022. Throughout this album, Styles shifts from his notorious soft-pop sound to experimental disco funk, but still explores his typical themes of balance with a carefree attitude.
Harry Styles first rose to fame in 2011 as part of the British boy band One Direction, alongside members Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson. The group is best known for their songs “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life.” In 2017, a year after the band broke up, Styles released his debut album, Harry Styles, which immediately topped the charts.
On his newest album, the opening track “Aperture” introduces listeners to Styles’ new slow-burning sound, layering soft synths with a steady electro-pop beat. This song harps on the idea that healthy relationships require emotional openness. In the lyrics, “Aperture lets the light in, we belong together,” Styles uses the camera term “Aperture” as a metaphor for vulnerability in a relationship. Just as a camera aperture controls how much light is let in, people control how often they open up to their partner.
The third track, “Ready, Steady, Go!” continues the retro-influenced beat, pulling inspiration from 1980s disco-dance music. The bright synths backed by a pulsing baseline add energy to the repeated phrase “Ready, steady, go!” and encourage listeners to embrace spontaneity and live in the moment. Although this song is a highlight of the album due to the catchy chorus, it follows repetitive style choices, just like previous tracks.
Track four, “Are You Listening Yet?” shifts away from the upbeat disco influence to a more atmospheric sound. This song expresses the frustration of feeling unheard in a relationship: “Now you’re all out of choices, are you listening yet?” The repeated question emphasizes the importance of listening to one another, suggesting that many relationship problems stem from people hearing each other but not fully understanding their intentions.
Track eight, “Coming Up Roses,” is a grand, melancholic, romantic song, backed by an orchestral waltz to a pizzicato string quartet. Near the end, the song reaches its peak with a symphonic interlude, creating a soulful, reminiscent atmosphere. The song explores a currently successful relationship, while also tackling the fear of it coming to an end, singing, “And everything seems to be coming up roses, but I’m scared if we’re both right, does that mean we’re not aligned?”
Track 10 rejuvenates the disco-funk elements of the album with the ironic title “Dance No More.” A techno synth underlay, groovy bass guitar riffs, and a steady kick drum carry the song. The song’s upbeat tune clashes with its deeper meaning; Styles sings,“DJs don’t dance no more (Ah) We wanna dance with all our friends,” highlighting the hardships of being the performer, unable to enjoy the performance like the audience.
Track 12, “Carla’s Song,” closes out the album with a cinematic, hopeful finale; the synth-heavy song starts slow and builds up to a dramatic drum crescendo during the final chorus. In an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, Styles explained that “Carla’s Song” is inspired by watching his friend Carla listen to music he’s grown up with, giving him a new perspective on musical influence and his own musical legacy. The song highlights discovery and rediscovery, portrayed in lyrics like “Saw the light in the gold that you discovered, Through your eyes, in awe, Melodies like the tide.”
Kiss All the Time, Disco, Occasionally., mixes romantic slow songs and upbeat disco numbers, switching frequently between club and slow dance. Although this experimental album explores a new genre for Styles, it lacked variety in sound and lyrical meaning, creating a repetitive feel. Overall, the disco-funk vibe of the album keeps an interesting throughline, but the shallow, generic lyrics hold it back. This album earns four out of five feathers.
