Gone are the days of chunky rings, painted fingernails, and bright colored sparky vests for Harry Styles. Styles’ new album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally., takes listeners on a sonic journey and offers a glimpse into the musings of a global pop star experiencing a quasi-normal life after over a decade in the spotlight. Through swelling instrumentals, relentless baselines, and synthesized vocals, Styles reintroduces himself to the world while reminding fans he’s still the same Harry he’s been all along.
Welcome Back
Styles sits in a private cafe in Paris across from Zane Lowe for his official Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. Apple Music Interview. He wears a chunky knit sweater striped in muted shades of brown, blue, and red. He looks normal— that is, he looks like any other 30-something-year-old man sipping espresso at a cafe in Paris. The look is a stark contrast to the outfits of the Harry’s House era and the aesthetics that went with it. Fans remember Styles’ look from his last sit-down with Lowe in Palm Springs: a mint-green sweater featuring a red house and hearts, paired with a chunky dark-green pearl necklace, pink Adidas Sambas, and a ring on every painted finger. Before Styles opens his mouth to speak, it’s clear this era is different.
“I think the end of the last tour felt like such a- the end of a chapter to me,” Styles told Lowe. Styles’ return to the spotlight comes after almost three years of time away from the industry. The break was the longest one he’d taken since starting his musical career with One Direction in 2010. The time away allowed him to consider his career and life in a way he hadn’t before.
“I wanted to like take a break and kind of like assess, I think,” said Styles. “I didn’t just want to roll straight into another process of making something. And I thought it was time to just, honestly like, make sure I still loved it in a lot of ways.”
Lucky for fans, it seems he still does. One listen to Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. and that much is apparent.
Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.
“Aperture,” the album’s first single, was released on January 22. Immediately, fans understood this album would be something different, a pivot from the upbeat pop melodies from the Harry’s House era.
If Harry’s House was the soundtrack to a drive with the windows down or an end-of-summer pool party, Kiss All The Time is its grown-up older sibling. Kiss All The Time is a night on a club dance floor or a long run through the city to blow off steam after work. It’s urgent, contrasting, and impossible not to move to.
In a way, it’s everything Styles found himself experiencing during his time away from the spotlight. The occasional blurry iPhone photo of Styles uploaded by fans to the internet during his time away was usually of him running, strolling the streets of Europe’s major cities, or out clubbing with friends.
This record isn’t just for fans. It’s for Styles himself.
“I want to enjoy it the most,” said Styles. “That was what making the record was about for me. Like what music do I have to make for me to be on stage feeling like I’m in the middle of the dance floor?”
Styles introduced Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. to the world with his Harry Styles: One Night in Manchester concert for Netflix. The show, held the same day as the album’s release, was the first time Styles played the record for fans and the first time he’d played his own show since the last “Love on Tour” concert in 2023.
Dressed in trousers and a blue crew neck sweatshirt layered over a polka dot button down, Styles reminded fans exactly who he is. The aesthetic might be different, but the rock-star energy and stage presence remain the same.
Finding A New Normal
The show is just a taste of what’s to come during Styles’ new residency tour. Instead of hitting a different city every night, Styles is staying put, camping out in Amsterdam, London, São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne, and Sydney. The tour invites fans to come to him and allows him and his band to hold on to a piece of the normalcy they experienced during their time away.
For fans who have followed Styles since his One Direction days, it’s fun to see him so relaxed and sure of himself. Glimpses of a younger, sillier Styles have popped up in his recent public appearances, most notably on Brittany Broski’s Royal Court and as a surprise guest on Ryan Gosling’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) episode last week. Styles himself will pull double duty as host and musical guest on SNL this weekend.
Though we’re grateful for his time away, it’s exciting to know fans have a year’s worth of Styles content coming their way as he begins his “Together, Together” residency tour. No matter what comes next, we’ll be listening to Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. and eager to watch.
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