Welcome to
Harry's House, where host
Harry Styles will join you for a drink (or more), lend a comforting ear, and make you breakfast the next day. His third full-length, the smooth set is his most consistent and immediately accessible to date, a craveable experience that comforts with warmth, familiarity, and just enough emotion to make his enviable lifestyle relatable. Once again helmed by
Kid Harpoon and
Tyler Johnson, the '70s-inspired pop production is a pure Los Angeles vibe, touching down everywhere from hip Hollywood haunts to contemplative Laurel Canyon overlooks. That throwback spirit echoes the work of similarly nostalgic contemporaries like
Mark Ronson,
Tame Impala, and
Bruno Mars, especially on tracks like "Music for a Sushi Restaurant," where joyous horns, thumping bass, and explosive energy are matched by skibbity-boop-bap scat playfulness, and the slowly unfolding "Daylight," which bursts to life with clashing drums, buzzing guitars, and swirling harmonies. "Late Night Talking" is a massive hit-in-waiting, a breezy, synth-heavy dose of fresh love and big promises, while the surprising "Satellite" puts a beautifully evocative spin on getting high with one of the best payoffs on the entire album. Throughout,
Styles' charisma is matched by equally alluring production, whether he's charming pants off to the bedroom digi-funk of the horny "Cinema," a
John Mayer-featuring highlight that channels
Random Access Memories; getting drunk on the good stuff while paying homage to
McCartney/
Wings on "Grapejuice"; or ramping up the energy on the funky "Daydreaming," which pairs a perfectly executed sample of the "padiya pa pa pa pa pa" from
the Brothers Johnson's "Ain't We Funkin' Now" with rousing horns and
Pino Palladino's elastic bass. Even on the chart-topping single "As It Was,"
Styles' bittersweet ruminations on change and growth are masked by driving synths and a propulsive beat. In the softer wing of
Harry's House, a trio of tender, guitar-plucked tracks connects the artist to the listener, as if
Harry was having a chat with a fan on the sofa. The hazy "Little Freak" drips with bittersweet longing, while the
Blood Orange-backed "Matilda" reveals a deeply personal tale of a hard-knock youth, and "Boyfriends" finds
Ben Harper on guitar as
Styles offers a shoulder to cry on for anyone wronged by a lackluster partner. Beyond the catchy melodies, lines of white powder, and sweaty sheets, he subtly reveals himself in these vulnerable moments, continuing his maturation from boy band survivor to one of the biggest stars of his class. While predecessor
Fine Line was all belting dramatics and showmanship fit for the grand stage,
Harry's House is what happens when
Styles steps out of the spotlight to live his life. And despite the fact that there's nothing as immortal as "Watermelon Sugar" to be found, this album, as a whole, has solid bones and is sturdy enough to last. ~ Neil Z. Yeung
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