My Guide To Harry Styles
It is clear to tell that Harry Edward Styles is here to stay. With his sophomore album, Fine Line, doing exceedingly well on the charts and his face on almost every social media platform imaginable, Harry Styles has no doubt picked up the quickest post-band hype we’ve seen since Justin Timberlake’s debut release. As a Harry Styles fan from the beginning, the excitement I feel about everyone finally getting to my level, is exponential.
If you are yet to jump in on the pop singer’s bandwagon, I am here to convince you. I have put together a short playlist of my personal favorite tracks in Harry’s short discography to help you understand what exactly I see, and what many others may see in this crooner.
- To Be So Lonley
This song is eccentric to say the least. To Be So Lonely actually took several listens for me to finally get into, but I can now honestly say that it may be my favorite track on Fine Line. This song is so honest. It outlines the fall of a relationship, and refreshingly, Harry definitely doesn’t paint himself in a great light. I think you can tell how purely he’s singing when you see that Harry can’t help but smirk when he sings the line “I’m just an arrogant son of bitch who can’t admit when he’s sorry” during live performances. The flip flop between the ukulele plucking, the violin and drum beats also really makes this song very distinct from anything else on the album, and probably most of the top 40.
2. Canyon Moon
Another Fine Line favorite, Canyon Moon brings you right into the middle of a bonfire dance party. Harry brings you into a simple moment in time and then fast-forwards to show that this is a memory, and that he is looking back at a lost love. However, the high energy and beautiful imagery that Harry brings to these memories makes you feel like your not hearing a song about loss, but instead remembering important moments that you don’t want to forget.
3. Meet Me In The Hallway
This track is probably the biggest gut-punch in Harry’s first self-titled project, but I think that it is still the one I hold closest in my heart. The lyrics in this track are fragile, a nature that Harry brings to almost all of the songs he creates. The song begins with lyrics like “Meet me in the hallway, I just left your bedroom, give me some morphine, is there any more I can do.” This line already rips your heart out, and the rest is a simple and tragic look at how physically and emotionally painful your emotions can be.
4. Two Ghosts
Another atmospheric track from Harry’s first record. Two Ghosts is an incredibly creative way to describe falling out of love with someone. Harry explains that nothing has changed on the surface within this in the relationship, the two lovers look exactly the same…but the lack of emotional passion that they have for each other has made them disappear before each other’s eyes. The lyrics “We’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty, trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat” really drives home the numbness you fall into when the situation just doesn’t feel like anything worth saving anymore.
5. Fine Line
The final song off of Harry’s recent release was the perfect way that he could have closed the album. Harry often explains that he hit some of his lowest lows and the highest highs when creating this album, and I think that the closer definitely feels like a validation of all the heights and lengths that he went through in love and as an artist. This song is also the perfect tune for the music nerds of the world because the end of this track is an explosion of noise, from horns to violins to guitars that fades to simply a few simple notes from the piano.
6. Carolina
This song may feel out of place when you look at the depths that we go to in some of the previous mentions, but Carolina screams Harry Styles. Harry is an incredible storyteller, which you can find in several tracks of Fine Line as well, but I believe that this track is the first taste that you get of Harry’s ability to paint a picture with his words and his vocals. This song is infectious, and the vocals almost sound like the have a film on them against the non-stop 70s beat and just raspy enough vocals. I think that Carolina really shows you how much fun Harry has writing, recording and singing his music.
