Taken as a whole, the animating idea behind Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally is that the music is Harry Styles’ gift to himself — a celebration of liberation and following one’s instinct. Its charm is in how it lifts the rest of us, too.
In the liner notes for his fourth studio album — which arrives Friday — Styles takes to thanking “those who inspire me to make anything” and “those who helped me know when to say yes.” It reads as a love letter to the voices and impulses that shape the cross-generational superstar’s inner world, a reminder that freedom is sweeter when shared. Its contents follow suit, with songs that move through romantic grief, restlessness and self-actualisation, but all come back to a recurring mantra: Sometimes, nightclubs can hold the power to transform a person forever.
On a spontaneous night out, the magic may happen in the hands of the DJ, but it relies on the energy and connection of a community of believers bound up in the music. In the time since Styles last released a record — the gleaming Harry’s House debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and scooped album of the year at the 2023 Grammys — he has been spotted outside Berlin superclub Berghain and losing himself at a Jamie xx gig, while also recuperating in Italy after a Billboard Boxscore-smashing world tour that rolled on for two years.
These moments have revealed Styles living far outside the glare of the camera. As such, rather than locking in on the pristine, highly stylised pop arrangements of Harry’s House, on Kiss All the Time, Styles fleshes out his introspection more inventively, weaving in acoustic instrumentation, jagged beats and bursts of feedback that thrive on the push and pull of delayed gratification. There is a fresh immediacy, even a hint of intensity, to some of these songs, if not necessarily the sense of release that the Billboard Hot 100-topping lead single “Aperture” foreshadowed.
Guided by trusted collaborator Kid Harpoon, the flashes of ‘70s guitar and ‘80s hooks that characterise much of Styles’ earlier output deepen into explorations of rock, disco and electronic house, often resting on the thrill of combustion by fusing opposing sonic elements. Drawing clear inspiration from LCD Soundsystem or even the ecstatic catharsis of Hot Chip’s A Bath Full of Ecstasy era, the record feels explorative and intimate and, at points, explosively alive.
As much as he’s dominated the mainstream over the past few years, Styles appears to be following some fresh curiosities and crafting new sounds that feel uncharted for him. The results are uneven in places, but perhaps that’s what makes them so compelling.
While all of Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally is worth absorbing, read Billboard‘s breakdown and preliminary ranking of every song on Styles’ latest album below.
