Release Date: 6 March 2026
Song Count: 12
Duration: 42 minutes, 39 seconds
Rating: 6.9/10
Description:
Did someone talk about a big name on the front page?
Boy band member turned solo pop star standing his own ground Harry Styles' highly anticipated fourth studio album has landed onto the public stage a few days ago now as of writing. Though somewhat resembling the style of his previous hits and works in terms of elements like theming and songwriting, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. is nevertheless a major detour from what the listening world has gotten used to from the English singer, as the production has now gone all in on the electronica and lower-tempo dance beats. The reaction of many listeners has unfolded itself as surprise and a divide between finding this found change a breath of fresh air and an unsuccessful detraction from his usual formula.
The sounds of synths and keys form the stage for most of the dozen tracks the album contains, as Styles' singing is seamlessly mixed into whichever tone or situation is present at any given moment and the consistent introduction of dynamic tunes and elements to truly set the songs apart leads to a varied and intriguing listen-through all around. Alternating between rhythmic albeit lower energy tracks to dance to -though perhaps not quite in a club or party - like "Pop", "Ready, Steady, Go!", "American Girls" and the opening lead single and highlight track "Aperture", and occasional ballads and fully emotionally charged songs by the likes of "The Waiting Game" and "Coming Up Roses", with even features of both sides blending in at once ("Season 2 Weight Loss"), there are multiple means in which the album explores its themes of complicated love and losing oneself in music.
While not always feeling like a particularly indulgent record in itself, it tells its alluded story in a way that manages to have a true impact at certain points, but primarily lets its sound and music take over the listener's attention instead. Plenty of ideas are thrown onto the wall here, and though plenty either fail to stick or don't lodge themselves properly, the ones that do truly show the potential of combining Harry Styles' specific flavour of pop with contemporary electronic music. A bold yet respectable push into a less conventional direction for music as mainstream as this, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. has brought forward some fascinating songs that, though divisive, could potentially find enough of a right audience to propel it forward in the public consciousness for longer than just one week after its release. Who knows, only time may tell. For now, though, the opening two tracks seem like the primary draw-in on a record that features more of the same features, but don't quite reach that initially set peak.