Harry Styles’ new album is fantastic – and a bit of a disappointment

Laura Scholz

9/3/2026

Translation: Katherine Martin

If you’d asked me last week if Harry Styles could put a foot wrong, I’d have answered «no» without hesitation. One weekend and 12 new songs later, I’m not so sure anymore.

My absolute favourite hobby is going to gigs. Coming in a close second, however, is belting out pop songs. As you’d expect, I enjoy singing my heart out at gigs. But I especially love a good singsong in the car, the kitchen or just when I’m in the right company.

I’m not saying that makes me a music expert by any stretch of the imagination. Even if Spotify once told me that, judging by the number of hours I spend listening to music, it’s evidently my life. I wouldn’t go quite that far, but I am a fan girl. A fan of pop music and pop culture. So, I’m pretty much obliged to be a fan of Harry Styles too. Ever since he released his first solo album, the originally titled Harry Styles, in 2017, I’ve adored basically everything about him. From his music to his hairstyles to his short running shorts.

I often sleep in the merch shirt for his second album Fine Line too. During one hotel stay, I shamelessly asked reception if housekeeping had accidentally nicked it by getting it entangled in the bed linen. They had. Thankfully, my T-shirt – and my ability to get a peaceful night’s sleep – were returned to me. Harry’s House was released in 2022, with the Brit once again finishing off the year as one of my most listened-to Spotify artists. Shocker.

Then, Harry took a break. A break that saw him strolling through Rome with then Gucci designer Alessandro Michele, hanging around in front of bakeries in Berlin (my home city!), jogging through Tokyo and running a marathon under the pseudonym Sted Sarandos. A break that lasted a good three years.

Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.

On 22 January 2026, all hell breaks loose in the group chat. New single! Tour dates! Album in March! Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. Oh my God! In a collective wave of hysteria euphoria, we spend an obscene amount of time in virtual queues for tickets to his Amsterdam concert, then book flights and hotel rooms. I even consider pre-ordering the vinyl version of his album. Sorry, but the name of the record is just too good. And besides, Harry’s back!

For the next month and a half, I listen to the first single Aperture on repeat and love it. Genuinely. Okay, I’m sure Harry listened to a little LCD Soundsystem during his hiatus. But it’s hardly a crime to let yourself be inspired … And boy, did he let himself be inspired.

Kiss All the Time. Copy, Occasionally.

Then, on the 6 March, it’s out. The album I’ve been anticipating for so long. The one I’ll listen to live in Amsterdam. The one I ordered on vinyl weeks ago. And it’s really, really good. But it also breaks my heart a little.

Straight from the first listen, far too many songs seem suspiciously familiar. The more I hear Harry’s voice streaming through my headphones, the more I’m hit by a sense of auditory déjà-vu. While you could say Aperture and Taste Back contain charming echoes of LCD Soundsystem, the similarity of the second song American Girls to The Durutti Columns’ Future Perfect is almost brazen.

Track number three, Ready, Steady, Go!, leaves Harry’s fondness for Canadian artist Caribou in little doubt. I guess he might’ve listened to his song Odessa two or three times too many in recent years. It’s the same story with Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads. Although Harry’s Are You Listening Yet? is at least a flattering homage to the new wave New York band, it ultimately prompts me to send an «I’m kinda disappointed» message to the group chat.

Kiss All the Time. Be Less Pedantic, Occasionally.

Oh man. My Harry-devoted heart has sunk ever so slightly. Because I was expecting something really big. Something that’d sound like Rome, Berlin and Tokyo – and not like the songs that’ve been on my playlist for years. Have I been listening to «Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.» as I’m writing this anyway? Sure. Did I still watch the «Harry Styles. One Night in Manchester» Netflix special on Sunday? Sure. Once a fan girl, always a fan girl. And besides, maybe Harry wears his Talking Heads T-shirt to bed because it really helps him sleep. I’d be the last person to judge him for it.

Laura Scholz

Senior Editor

Laura.Scholz@digitecgalaxus.ch

Always in the mood for good hits, great trips and clinking drinks.

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