FEATURE:
Revisiting…
Harry Styles – Harry’s House
_________
WHETHER a great album overlooked…
PHOTO CREDIT: Lillie Eiger
or a terrific album that people might not know about now – or it is not played widely -, I wanted to use at least the next couple of Revisiting… features to explore some of the best of last year. As I say, there were albums overlooked that are worthy of praise. Some that were not given their dues but are definitely stronger than that. The third group is strong albums that were acclaimed but maybe not everyone has heard of. Maybe some people feel Harry Styles is a niche taste or a Pop artist that is reserved for a certain demographic. That is definitely true with a lot of boyband alumni. Styles was a member of One Direction and, unlike many who have been part of a boyband (who were mainly aimed at younger listeners), Styles is a very mature and eclectic artists whose debut album, Harry Styles, only hinted at what potential he had. 2019’s Fine Line was a real step up. An award-winning and acclaimed album, this was followed by his third. Nominated for, among other things, the Mercury Prize, it is by far the most revered and fine example of Styles’ Pop craft and huge diversity. Taking in a range of styles and influences, Harry’s House was released on 20th May, 2022. With, again, songs co-written by Styles, Harry’s House was named as one of the best albums of last year. It won the GRAMMY for Album of the Year last night (6th February).
I do get the feeling that, as his music is still not as widely played as it should be, many may have missed out. He gets love here from heavyweights such as BBC Radio 1 and 2 but, perhaps, some of the more alternative stations still do not play music they consider too commercial. Harry Styles’ music is much broader and more appealing than you got with One Direction (even though they were stronger than many of their peers). Developing as a very strong and distinct solo artist, Harry’s House was worthy of its positive reviews and award nods. I am going to finish with a couple of the positive reviews for this incredible work. First, I want to quote parts of a very deep and fascinating interview from Better Homes and Garden, where we get background to Harry’s House, and an insight into the fact that, although he is a huge name, he is very grounded and ego-free:
“Two years on, Styles and I are meeting because that album, titled Harry's House, is about to be announced to the world. (Styles actually finished it before he finally held his much-delayed Fine Line tour in September 2021, the first full indoor arena concert run in the U.S. since COVID hit.) The day before we meet, I listened to the album in a room at Sony's London headquarters under the watchful eye of a company executive. Only a handful of people knew then about its existence, and, overwhelmed by the pressure of secrecy, I briefly freaked out when I found myself audibly humming one of the songs on the train home. Harry's House is, as you can probably guess, about home. Not just home in the sense of a physical space—though there are plenty of references to kitchens and "sitting in the garden" and "maple syrup, coffee, pancakes for two"—but also to home "in terms of a headspace or mental well-being," as Styles put it. "It sounds like the biggest, and the most fun, but it's by far the most intimate," he said of the album.
PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Walker
At this point, Styles and I were sitting with a coffee on a patch of grass outside the pool, and I had begun to realize that I had kept him in the cold water way, way too long. He was visibly shaking. "Two lengths was too much," he agreed. I think we were both trying to show off—me, nonchalance to a popular heartthrob, and him, hardiness to another committed cold water swimmer. I became worried I had incapacitated him, something that would get me into great trouble, as a member of his team reminded me by text later, as he was due to perform at Coachella in a few weeks. "If you killed me, it would make for a good story," Styles said, eager to see the sunny side. We set off in search of heat.
Almost anyone who meets Styles will tell you how polite, breezy he is. Few interviews go by without mentioning his charm. Indeed, it is hard not to describe his boyish enthusiasm in the same campy, knowing cheesiness that enlivens his songs ("strawberries on a summer evenin'" or the exquisitely saccharine, "If I was a bluebird, I would fly to you; you be the spoon, dip you in honey so I can be sticking to you," from "Daylight" on Harry's House). Styles is teddy bears on your teenage bed, perfect handwriting on thank you cards, picked flowers on Sunday morning, puppies running on fresh-cut grass, Grandma's favorite homemade cake. At points, he is almost daffily nice, too attentive, as if held in the throes of a decade-long bout of imposter syndrome (he confirmed that he does, sometimes, expect that someone will tap him on the shoulder and say, "The jig is up. You're done now"). Surely a mask, you are thinking. No one that fancied can be that sweet. I asked Styles this myself: Is he actually pleasant, normal, sane? "My producer keeps asking me when I'm going to have my big breakdown," he said, laughing. "The most honest version I can think of is, I didn't grow up in poverty by any means, but we didn't have much money, and I had an expectation of what I could achieve in life. I feel like everything else has been a bonus, and I am so lucky."
Styles told me that he sees Harry's House as a similar watershed. "Finally, it doesn't feel like my life is over if this album isn't a commercial success," he said. "You've never felt that way before?" I asked. He said, "Honestly, I don't think I have." With his first album, he explained, he was terrified to make fun music, "because I'd come out of the band, and it was like, if I want to be taken seriously as a musician, then I can't make fun music." He called it "bowling with the bumpers up, playing it safe." While the second album was "freer," he became concerned with making "really big songs," an objective he now questions. Now his goals are, on the surface, smaller but, to him, far greater: "I just want to make stuff that is right, that is fun, in terms of the process, that I can be proud of for a long time, that my friends can be proud of, that my family can be proud of, that my kids will be proud of one day," he said. We hugged goodbye, and he set off through North London on foot—a sex symbol, a fashion darling, a very modern rock star, weaving his way back home”.
I want to end up with reviews for Harry’s House. AllMusic had some interesting things to say about one of the best albums of last year. Styles’ most complex and memorable album to date, it is the real first peak of his solo career. I think that the songs from Styles’ third studio album should be played more widely now. It is a hugely rewarding body of work:
“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”.
The final thing I will source is DIY’s take on the excellent Harry’s House. I think I heard singles like As It Was when they came out. It is only fairly recently that I have sat down with the whole album. Harry’s House got to number one both here and in the U.S. Rolling Stone placed Harry’s House fifth in their list of the best albums of 2022:
“Please come inside my most intimate space,” invited an early teaser for ‘Harry’s House’, as if to hint that Harry Styles’ third solo album might be the one in which the global superstar gives a little more of his day-to-day existence into song. For while we know a lot of facts about Harry the human - he’s grown from boy to man in the public eye, after all - we don’t actually really know very much about him either. Even the most cursory questions are often answered with a shrug; his much-referenced 2014 “not that important” response [brushed off in answer to whether he’d like a potential partner to be female] applied to just about everything. Harry Styles is Mr. Ambiguity.
And, at first glance, maybe on ‘Harry’s House’ we are learning something. We’re surely not supposed to take giant leaps with ‘Cinema’ and its refrain “I bring the pop / You got, you got the cinema”. Similarly, all at HSHQ knew precisely whose Wikipedia entry was about to be checked on once the couplet “Leave America / Two kids follow her” was deciphered in single ‘As It Was’. Moreover, we also hear of sneaking away in hotel rooms with “the one that got away” (‘Love Of My Life’), a regrettable hookup (‘Little Freak’) and, in ‘Keep Driving’, a long list of oddly-specific scenarios, from an amorous breakfast (“Maple syrup / Coffee / Pancakes for two / Hash brown / Egg yolk / I will always love you”) to whatever “Cocaine / Side boob / Choke her with a sea view” happens to be.
Yet, as ever, while with one hand he’s exploring vivid lyrical micro-vignettes (‘Matilda’ is a gorgeous, bittersweet third-person tale and, perhaps, where the theme of ‘Harry’s House’ could have begun), he’s still obfuscating with the other. From the off, Harry switches the narrative enough to question all that follows: “I don’t want you to get lost / I don’t want you to go broke”, for example, becomes “I’m not going to get lost / I’m not going to go broke” on opener ‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’. ‘Grapejuice’ could just as easily be a tale of falling in love with a person as with a bottle of vino (“There’s just no getting through / Without you / A bottle of rouge / Just me and you”), and in context, ‘Boyfriends’ - of which much was made following its Coachella debut - could merely be Harry throwing mud at himself. In essence, he’s probably begging never to be a lyricist who’s deciphered forensically.
Where his 2017 self-titled debut saw Harry begin to carve out his solo voice, and ‘Fine Line’ two years later showcased him flexing his big studio wings, in ‘Harry’s House’ lives a songwriter confident enough in both to start playing with convention. Hooks are frequently courtesy of instrumentals (see ‘Daylight’, or the clanging, near-industrial guitar loop of ‘Grapejuice’) or barely-there vocals (‘Daydreaming’). Samples are used as percussion (‘Satellite’, which also echoes its thematic ‘spiralling out’ with a cacophonous mid-point climax) or, in the case of closer ‘Love Of My Life’, looped to smartly echo the pulse of a dancefloor and contradict the song’s otherwise soft acoustic guitar and piano. And it’s only when ‘As It Was’ - itself one of the most straightforward numbers on the record - kicks in that he gets close to belting anything out. He might be a natural born pop performer of the highest order, but Harry Styles is also not scared of being secondary to the song; a lesson it’s taken many others far longer to learn”.
If you have not heard Harry’s House or not investigated Harry Styles’ solo work, then I would encourage you to spend time doing so. Even though he is a major artist who could be considered mainstream, his latest album has that depth and inventiveness that stands it out from pack. It got a lot of love last year, but I do feel that some missed out on a terrific album. If you have not heard it yet – or not spun it for a while -, then go and investigated Harry’s House…
AS soon as possible.