{"id":1234,"date":"2026-01-30T09:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2026\/01\/30\/2026-01-30-harrys-back-in-style\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T23:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T23:08:10","slug":"2026-01-30-harrys-back-in-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2026\/01\/30\/2026-01-30-harrys-back-in-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry\u2019s back in\u00a0style"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Andrew Hutchinson<\/a> · Staff Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\u2014 INSTAGRAM<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After a three-year break, former One Direction band member Harry Styles has released new music, and while the sound is unmistakably Styles, this album will certainly be an even further departure from current pop sounds than his albums of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lead single, \u201cAperture,\u201d will be on the album \u201cKiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally,\u201d which Harry has confirmed will have an emphasis on techno-focused, disco sounds. If \u201cAperture\u201d is an accurate sample of the new sound, listeners will be pleasantly surprised. It is unlikely the entire album will be energetic, and Harry certainly has no issue blending vastly diverse sounds and genres in the same album (think \u201cSign of the Times\u201d vs. \u201cKiwi\u201d from his debut album \u201cHarry Styles\u201d). However, the progression to retro-inspired music seems like a missed clue from the 2022 release of \u201cHarry\u2019s House,\u201d which featured tracks like \u201cLate Night Talking\u201d and \u201cDaydreaming.\u201d Both tracks, when listened to in conjunction with \u201cAperture,\u201d create a world of vintage sounds and instrumentation that is very refreshing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song itself is a bit of an enigma, but it is a clear sign that Harry is confident in his music. In a world of soundbite-y, repetitive tracks with run times that clearly follow the death of the modern attention span, Harry almost audaciously drops a 5:11 long single in which the vocals take nearly as long to begin as some entire songs on the charts. The production quality continues to impress, showing Harry isn\u2019t compromising on sound, and the mixing boosts the already high standard that has existed since he started as a solo artist in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, Harry\u2019s wonderful vocals and range aren\u2019t used to their full potential in this single, and while the slightly distorted effect added to his voice works without issue in the final mix, the lyrics aren\u2019t as catchy as previous songs. It would appear the \u201cTaylor Swift effect,\u201d a songwriting style in which lyrical density overshadows memorability, has taken place. However, Harry\u2019s lyrics seem to lack the near-poetic elements Swift has shown in \u201cFolklore\u201d or \u201cThe Tortured Poets Department.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pre-chorus and chorus are perfectly on point for the direction of the album, however, and despite some harmonic confusion in the melody, the disco vibes are immaculate. Another way the single is commendably consistent is in its complete lack of profanity. Harry is arguably the only modern artist of similar success to never include profanity in any of his lyrics, unlike other artists like Taylor Swift or Billie Eilish. Even though Harry understands that his fans would likely not be shocked by any amount of profanity, he has consistently written popular and original songs without coarse language. Such moves ought to be encouraged in a genre that no longer seems to care about younger listeners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Harry will remain a complex and unpredictable character in the world of pop singers, if \u201cAperture\u201d is any sign of what is coming in March, huge success and Grammy nominations are on their way. A clean, unique album with a cohesive theme and sound is desperately needed, although Harry will not be alone: music from all other remaining One Direction members will be releasing around the same time, as well as new albums from Bruno Mars and Raye within the span of a few weeks. Nevertheless, \u201cKiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally\u201d is poised to carve out a place in pop history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a three-year break, former One Direction band member Harry Styles has released new music, and while the sound is unmistakably Styles, this album will certainly be an even further departure from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[221],"tags":[84,21,42],"class_list":["post-1234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-andrew-hutchinson","tag-entertainment","tag-issue-2026-01-30"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-01-30-14-harrys-back-in-style-1.jpg",1280,805,false],"thumbnail":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-01-30-14-harrys-back-in-style-1.jpg",150,94,false],"medium":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-01-30-14-harrys-back-in-style-1.jpg",300,189,false],"medium_large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-01-30-14-harrys-back-in-style-1.jpg",768,483,false],"large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-01-30-14-harrys-back-in-style-1.jpg",1024,644,false],"1536x1536":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-01-30-14-harrys-back-in-style-1.jpg",1280,805,false],"2048x2048":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-01-30-14-harrys-back-in-style-1.jpg",1280,805,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ian Schartner","author_link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/author\/schartnerij23\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"After a three-year break, former One Direction band member Harry Styles has released new music, and while the sound is unmistakably Styles, this album will certainly be an even further departure from","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1803,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1234\/revisions\/1803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}