Harry’s House
Album By Harry Styles
2022 was quite the year for Harry Styles. Releasing his third solo album and subsequently selling out Madison Square Garden fifteen nights in a row, Harry was then ready to take his wildly expensive show on the road. Harry’s House was omnipresent throughout the summer of 2022, nearly comparable to the unavoidable mania after Sgt. Pepper’s release in the 60s. Fans loved it. Haters abhorred it. And the media couldn’t get enough of Harry’s genre and gender bending charisma
Harry’s first album was an attempt to distance himself from his One Direction days by drawing from David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac. His second album fortified his place at the top of pop (and as a sex icon) with Fine Line and its megahit Watermelon Sugar. With less to prove after two certified successes, Harry’s House presents a far more heady and sensitive Styles, even with all the synth pop backing his stellar vocals.
The title of the album is a direct homage to Japanese pop icon Haruomi Hosono, who is best known for leading electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra. He mentioned in an interview that “It was very kind of literal and on the nose: I wanted to make an acoustic EP or something and make it all in my house, and make it really intimate… [‘Harry’s House’] was named after Horsono, who had an album in the ‘70s called ‘Horsono House'''”. I highly recommend giving Horsono and YMO a listen.
Anyone who can cite Japanese electronic music pioneers either knows their stuff or has a spectacular PR team. Either way, Harry’s House holds up as one of the best albums of the year with songs that will bring you to tears along with radio hits that inevitably were co opted as TV ad-backing tracks.
The first track, Music For a Sushi Restaurant, opens the album with fanfare and every catchy songwriting gimmick imaginable. Is using horns in a pop song cheating? Some would say yes, but in ‘Sushi’ it's too tantalizing to resist. With its descending off-pitch vocals and funk inducing bass line, not to mention the quick scatting in the verse, this song is both cheerful and off-putting. I was a fan of the song until the wrenching realization via TikTok that the song was practically made for a “Girls and boys jeans just 40% off at JCPenny’s Independence Day Sale!” overdub. Apple quickly obliged and, with that, I stopped listening.
With the album’s money maker out of the way, the A-side is chalk full of fun, late-night-karaoke-potential hits. Late Night Talking could be played in the background at a polite dinner party or belted by a bachelorette party en route to a wine tour in Napa. GrapeJuice provides a chill reprieve before launching into As It Was. 80’s synth pop is certainly back in a big way with this track. One could practically play Take On Me by A-Ha over the upbeat synth melody. Haruomi Hosono would certainly be proud of this one.
The first side closes out with Daylight, Little Freak and Matilda, all of which are amazing in their own ways. Daylight builds into a headbanging classic. Little Freak and Matilda are likely his most sentimental and thought provoking songs on the album. Matilda is the best track on the album solely for its heart wrenching lyrics. It also feels like a song truly written in Harry’s house, effectively acting as the bookend to the album name’s double meaning- house music and music written in the house. The B-Side of the album is filled with chill vibes and more stadium tour singalongs, however it simply doesn’t match up to the first half. That’s not to say it isn’t good, the A-Side is just that great.
Has Harry Styles peaked? His name is in the rafters next to Billy Joel at MSG. Tickets across the country sold out in minutes and resale value for nosebleeds were well over $500. The success of Harry’s House is extraordinary. Harry probably hasn’t peaked yet, but it will be hard to top the success of his third solo album, Harry’s House. Enjoy.
Best Track: As It Was (but actually Matilda)
Tom’s Favorite: Matilda
Give it a listen: Boyfriends. Doesn’t it sound like Marcus Mumford would kill a cover of this song?