‘Harry’s House’ review: Harry Styles invites you home
I’m happy to report that Harry’s House contains multitudes, beyond its place as a Tik Tok darling. But did the pioneer of the modern boyband-to-rockstar pipeline really have all that much to prove on his third album?
With a nod to folk legend Joni Mitchell in the title and a continuation of his subtle disco flair that he edged into on his sophomore effort, Harry Styles guns for a clear theme on this one, which isn’t out of the ordinary for the singer-songwriter, musician, and style-icon-extraordinaire. Harry’s House contains thoughtful, modern pop-rock at its finest. He leans on his influences, but he isn’t afraid to shake things up.
Although, again, this is a running theme with Styles not entirely unique to this album, one of his standout qualities is his ability to produce complex and artful music that’s at the same time lively and upbeat. His only single from the album, ‘As It Was’, is proof of this. Of course, the earworm may already be getting old considering its Tik Tok takeover, but it didn’t get there by being lacklustre.
Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of albums with a stronger second half, and I will say, Harry’s House falls into that camp for me. Yes, the entire thing is strong and cohesive, but once you pass ‘As It Was’, the record goes up from there. Although the slow songs are rarely standouts on an album of this nature, ‘Little Freak’ and ‘Matilda’ both capture hearts, the former radiating a nostalgic, filmy soundscape while the latter winds further down to earth with a Kaki King-esque guitar part.
Beyond the ballads, some of the other standouts here are tracks like ‘Satellite’, which climbs to a satisfying build, and ‘Daydreaming’, which goes all-in with the 1970s inspiration. I’d say the record’s high point is undoubtedly ‘Keep Driving’—a song that just oozes golden hour euphoria. The lyrical simplicity and the melodic sweetness mix for the perfect track to spin for the rest of the summer and beyond. This is an effort that could have quite easily emerged as a hit single.
The final track of the album, ‘Love Of My Life’, is refreshingly upbeat for its minor tone and sugary subject. Again, the vintage inspiration shines through on this one, but Styles still leans into his sprinkles modernity. Personally, I find this to be the recipe that usually creates Styles’ best tracks. A couple of the heavily disco-inspired songs on this album feel a little like they’re mostly there to prove his aesthetic inspirations. Given this, I’d like to see him trust his audience a little more to catch his drift, and trust himself to marry his innovation with his influences more often, as it unsurprisingly seems to work out in his favour more than any other technique.
I’ve already seen people call Harry’s House style over substance, but here’s the thing: style is half of the game. In fact, I think the more he leans into his own unique style, the better he’ll get, album after album. Regardless, this does indeed make things clear: Harry Styles is one who does his homework. And when he hits the nail on the head—which, again, is more often than not—boy, is it a dream come true.
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