Dance All The Time. Communal Transcendence, Occasionally
- Sarah Bruno
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
From an innocent member of a boy band to a breakout solo artist, Harry Styles is no stranger to the spotlight caused by the release of an album. After a three-year hiatus, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. (KISSCO) is turning heads with its unexpected new sound.
Across his prior records, Styles offers a very stripped-back, raw sound mixed with the lyrical vulnerability that his fans attribute to him. With KISSCO, he introduces a new sound that has left some fans confused, many dancing, and others perceiving him in a different light. With lyricism taking a backseat, the album’s electronic dance sensibilities immediately catches your attention.
Styles’ hiatus heavily influenced this new electronic, synth-heavy, and psychedelic-pop sound. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Styles expresses how he felt lost after a two-and-a-half year tour for both Fine Line and Harry’s House. He felt, for the first time, that touring had become a job rather than something he was passionate about.
In “Are You Listening Yet,” he captures the feeling of doing everything he’s supposed to – going to therapy, exercising, and meeting every expectation – only to remain unfulfilled. He channels this in an attempt to build a more “normal” way of life. He began embracing solitude, saying “yes” more freely, and living as openly as possible as one can in the limelight of pop superstardom.
During his hiatus, he took it upon himself to become a fan again by attending shows by his favorite artists and indulging in different club atmospheres. While at shows or clubs, he was getting lost in the music, which he admitted was a sensation he had not felt in a long time.
KISSCO is as much of an album for the fans as it is for Styles himself, drawing strong influence from LCD Soundsystem, Radiohead, David Bowie, and Paul Simon. The first single from the album, “Aperture,” is a beautiful love letter to the rest of KISSCO. Built on an upbeat electronic pulse, it finds Styles’ reflecting, “I don’t know these spaces/Time won’t wait on me.”
He is learning that time is so valuable and should be appreciated rather than wasted. Styles is no longer the talent show contestant who found success in an iconic boy band all those years ago. He has lost a close friend, gone through very public break-ups, and experienced adversities that left a mark on him. He has grown through these experiences and is learning to become in touch with his emotions and seemingly wants to reintroduce himself to the public.
He admits to Zane Lowe on struggling a lot with who he actually is and how the public perceives him to be. The song “Paint By Numbers” personifies his perception of disappointing his fans. He opens the track with “What a gift it is to be noticed, but it has nothing to do with me,” as if saying that he is nothing without his fanbase. This lyric almost dissolves and invalidates Styles’ international superstar status in one line.
His self-confidence seems to be dwindling the deeper you look into the song. He fears that his true colors may present a deception to many fans of who he truly is, and more importantly, who he wants to be. He goes on to state: “Holding the weight of the American children whose hearts you break/Was it a tragedy when you told her/I’m not even thirty-three.” In this vein, he feels responsible for the perception of him that fans hold him to and the anxiety that he feels to uphold that image. For someone growing up in the public eye, he has to show his authentic self, though he fears the fans may not like it. As he has become highly successful at a young age, could these growing pains tamper with his image? Or will it help solidify his new image? Only time can tell, and Styles knows that.
Personal growth is a recurring theme; this feels like the first time Styles has embraced experimentality and just let himself have fun with his sound. From the musical arrangements – featuring psychedelic synths, electric guitar, and heavy basslines – to the auto-tuned vocals, KISSCO feels like something entirely new sonically and lyrically.
Styles admitted that this album doesn’t sound as polished and finished as his past discography, emphasizing that much of the creative process was rooted in having fun rather than striving for perfection. In a Capital FM interview, he described how letting go of the idea of a “perfect album” was hard to come to terms with, yet it gave him significant creative freedom to do whatever he wanted. The authenticity and genuineness of where the artist is now feels central to this album; KISSCO is a watershed record for this chapter of his life.
While at first listen, the average fan may feel confused, I encourage you to sit with this album in its entirety. I’d argue that the record is not appropriating house music as much of the media is promoting. KISSCO is a communal transcendence into a place that only music can take you to; it’s the feeling of being with close friends, laughing uncontrollably, discovering a new favorite song, or having a flawless day spent in the sun. Styles delivers an album that feels necessary in dark times, offering listeners a space to escape daily life's stressors and be engulfed by music, reminding us that “if you join a movement, make sure there’s dancing.”
Kiss, All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. is out on all streaming platforms, and Styles’ One Night Only in Manchester is a live performance of the album now streaming on Netflix.
