Harry Styles: Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally review nice all the time. Good, occasionally

"Record stores in the UK are opening at midnight or first thing in the morning on the day of release, the better for fans to avail themselves of a copy at once. Styles has been announced as curator of this year's Meltdown festival at London's Southbank Centre, an honour previously bestowed on Scott Walker, Patti Smith, Yoko Ono, Ornette Coleman and David Bowie."

"It is devoid of unequivocal pop bangers along the lines of As It Was or Watermelon Sugar. Aperture's hazy, post-club mood wasn't a soft launch. Whether it's dealing in mid-tempo house beats topped with plangent piano chords, as on American Girls, or the acoustic singer-songwriter-isms of Paint By Numbers, a lot of what's here feels like music made in the small hours, with the curtains drawn against the dawn."

"The accompanying tour largely eschews actual touring in favour of lengthy residencies in one venue per country, or even continent: North America is covered by a staggering 30 dates at New York's Madison Square Garden. The expectation seemed to be that Styles's fans are so devoted, they'll cross the country to see him, rather than vice versa."

Harry Styles's fourth solo album launch demonstrates his status as a major cultural figure through multiple indicators: UK record stores opening at midnight for release day, his curation of London's Southbank Centre Meltdown festival, a Brit Awards performance and promotional skit, and an unconventional tour strategy featuring lengthy residencies rather than traditional touring. The album itself marks a notable artistic departure, abandoning the pop anthems of previous work like As It Was and Watermelon Sugar. Instead, it features introspective, late-night aesthetics with mid-tempo house beats, piano chords, and acoustic singer-songwriter elements. Tracks like American Girls and Paint By Numbers showcase music created in small hours with curtains drawn, maintaining understated qualities even on more rhythmically complex songs.

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