Why 'Harry's House' feels underwhelming

'Harry's House' is the much anticipated 3rd solo album from Harry Styles. With song names like 'Little Freak' and lyrics like 'choke her with a sea view' being leaked in the week building up to the album's release, fans were expecting Medicine and Kiwi-esque sexually-charged rock songs. Theories of him returning to the sound of his debut solo album were circulating, which contained a mix of rock and ballads with the occasional softer sound to solidify his comeback.

But Harry's House was nothing like this. It's not unfathomable that he wanted to move his sound forwards, rather than clinging to the sound of HS1, however this new direction lacks spark and memorability. Upon first listen, this album seemed to blend into one long soft-pop loop. And I could blame my initial feelings of disappointment on the misguided expectations I had going into the first listen. Upon second listen, however, other issues became apparent.

'Music for a Sushi Restaurant', the opening track, is upbeat, starting the album where the 9th, 10th and 11th tracks of Fine Line left off. In particular it feels like a call back to 'Treat People with Kindness', a song that fills any room with an exaggeratedly celebratory festival atmosphere, feeling somewhat like the end song to a musical where everyone lives happily ever after. 'Music for a Sushi Restaurant', however, never quite reaches the same level of unashamed festivity- it's more like TPWK's self conscious younger sibling. Admittedly, I think I'm in the minority with this viewpoint, with many people on TikTok hailing it as a summer anthem (and others pointing out how similar it sounds to the Ant Farm music).

After Music for a Sushi Restaurant, the rest of the album sounds very same-y, with most of the songs seeming more like filler songs than anything capable of being a standalone single. Everything about 'Cinema', from the formulaic lyrics to predictable beat to the endless repetition, created the sound of every other soulless radio pop song from the past 5 years.

Other songs had more of a 2017 indie bedroom pop vibe, which put them in a whole other ballpark of mediocre. Firstly, music does not exist in a vacuum. Trends come and go, and the image of a musician influences reception of their music. Indie bedroom pop hit it's peak in 2017, arguably staying notably trendy until early 2020, with Clairo, Rex Orange County and Conan Gray as staples of the genre (some of which have transitioned into making music backed by larger labels and with a different sound without losing integrity). The attraction of bedroom pop comes directly from it's relatability, with the name 'bedroom pop' referencing the DIY, made in your own bedroom nature of many songs, at least when artists first start out. Not being backed by a major label and self-producing allows a listener to imagine themselves making the music, and gives the sense that anyone has a shot. Music made by teens that speaks directly to teens, creating melodramatic and raw looks at teenage culture is what makes the genre so attractive. So you may be able to see why music with the same sound as bedroom pop, made by a 28 year old multimillionaire, already backed by a major label, two years after the major peak of the genre, does not have the same allure as his other two albums have done.

There are some standout songs, however, that can only really be distinguished on a third or fourth listen. 'Satellite' builds well and has more energy and movement than many of the other songs. 'Matilda' practically begs to be listened to whilst sobbing on the bathroom floor. It's a shame that these songs get lost in an album of sameness and mediocrity, which fails to allow any of them to really shine. The contrast between soft, sad songs and sexier rock songs in his first album, or between happy, easy going songs and gut-wrenching ballads in his second album is something greatly missed in this album and could have really helped to do justice to the potential that it does have.

Overall, the album is lackluster. Perhaps the beige colour palette of the album cover should have given us some clues to the blandness it has, but the real issue lies in the divide between preconceptions and reality. The (misguided) preconception of a rock based album doomed the soft, low-key sound, and the context of the bedroom pop genre inherently made a new album already feel aged and overplayed.