Happy Harry Styles Day to all who celebrate. Yes, his third album is here – it’s perfect – and we’re beside ourselves. Filled with big bouncy pop melodies and the same beats that kept us listening to As It Was on a semi-deranged loop for days on end, this record is genuinely all hits and no skips with infinite new singles waiting to be plucked from the track list. Hooray.
From his pink sequin-covered Coachella collab with Lizzo to his raunchy little leather-clad dance moves at the Grammys, Harry Styles as an artist has brought nothing but joy (and a little lust) into our lives amid the nightmare news cycle of the last two years. So, it’s no surprise to anyone that this album feels like a celebration with a sprinkling of sensuality.
In fact, sprinkling might be an understatement, because there’s some borderline erotic literature hidden in Harry’s House. We start off slow, with Music For A Sushi Restaurant, where Styles sings: ‘Green eyes, fried rice, I could cook an egg on you,’ OK. But before long we’re breaking the thirstometer with Keep Driving: ‘Cocaine, side boob, choke her with a sea view,’ he belts.
Side boob. Light BDSM with a side of scenery?! Harry Styles, we (not complaining) simply did not see this coming.
And neither did anyone on Twitter: ‘Rocked by the revelation that the phrase ‘side boob’ is uttered on the Harry Styles album,’ wrote one user. ‘If you told me four years ago that I’d be more interested in a new Harry Styles album than a new Chance the Rapper album, I wouldn’t have believed you,’ added another. ‘But here we are.’ Yes, here we are indeed.
Harry’s House, named so after the mental headspace (or ‘rooms’) Styles felt therapy had gifted him over the years, is an album that doesn’t take itself too seriously. From Satellite to Daydreaming it unapologetically pops, shines, and struts, in 80s flares and sequin vests in a loop that feels fun and – most importantly – free.
‘I’ve been dancing and smiling in my room for the past 30 minutes listening to his new album for the first time,’ praised one fan. ‘I just hope everyone has something that makes them this happy,’ they added, while a second echoed: ‘He can literally pull you out of the worst funk with one song.’
Across the feed, listeners have detailed feelings of nostalgia, joy and ‘late summer when it’s chilly with your friend [and you find] meaning in every love you ever felt…dancing in the middle of your kitchen before sunsets.’
And what did Styles hope to convey to fans with Harry’s House? ‘While this is such a personal album… it’s very much dedicated to my friends,’ he told NPR{