A Review of Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.
It has been close to three years since fans have seen Harry Styles beyond paparazzi shots of him biking around Europe. Three years of radio silence from the 32-year-old pop star, which, in fan terms, can feel like Forever, Forever.
Styles broke the internet on Jan. 15, when he announced the release of his upcoming album, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally”. Despite the unexpected announcement, fans have long joked about predicting his fourth studio album to appease their growing itch for new content, saying “HS4 at midnight!”
This style of quick releases after a shocking announcement is not uncommon for the British singer-songwriter. His last album, “Harry’s House,” was announced in March of 2022, and released in May of the same year.
In his newest album, Styles did not disappoint, featuring 12 songs that fall under somewhat unexplored genres and styles for him: pop rock, synth-pop and dance-pop. The sound of this new album is entirely different from what fans knew and were likely expecting from the artist, making the whole experience more enticing.
- Aperture
The first song on the album and the lead single, “Aperture,” tells a story of love and commitment through camera and film imagery. Aperture is the part of a camera that allows light to seep through, brightening the image. The song details intense feelings of desire and describes capturing the stillness of bustling scenes, again alluding to camera functions.
The pre-chorus and chorus encourage the recipient of Styles’ message to open up to new possibilities, especially in love. Lyrics like, “It’s best you know what you don’t / Aperture lets the light in,” use the metaphor of camera aperture to inspire listeners to embrace vulnerability and let the light (or love) into their life.
Styles uses this song to tell audiences it’s okay to fear the unknown, but acknowledging that and pursuing love regardless leads to a greater reward.
- American Girls
“American Girls” is the second single of the album, and contrasts its upbeat musicality with seemingly lonely lyrics. Styles recounts feeling conflicted while watching a handful of his closest friends get married.
He expresses how happy he is for his friends as they find love, but he implicitly wonders when will it be his turn to have a chance with these “American girls.”
The song is one of the more direct and understandable songs in terms of lyrics. Styles does not always lay out his meanings for songs; “American Girls” provides a reprieve from interpreting abstract concepts.
- Ready, Steady, Go!
A relatively short track, much like the relationship it paints a picture of, “Ready, Steady, Go!” details the fluttery feeling of a new romantic dalliance. Styles paints the emotional adrenaline rush of a fresh relationship: butterflies and sleepless nights.
It does not overcomplicate love, like other songs on his previous albums; this song focuses on the lighthearted and carefree moments, and encourages listeners to go for new experiences without stopping to analyze every pro and con.
- Are You Listening Yet?
Speaking of adrenaline, this song is bound to heighten and intensify any urgency lying dormant in your soul. The quick tempo and heavy bass line blend with the critical lyrics, quickening the blood pumping through listeners’ bodies. Listeners say that, independent of the lyrics, the song motivates them to run a marathon just from the beat of the music.
The lyrics supposedly criticize Styles (or the person he speaks to) for not listening to matters of the head and heart. They describe the mistakes the subject made and the amount of choices available to the subject, but that haven’t yet been decided on. The problems mentioned in the song are never resolved, but leave listeners high on energy for the rest of the album.
- Taste Back
“Taste Back” dives into the complex emotions that arise after encountering an important figure from one’s past. This can be an old lover or friend, since the lyrics are flexible upon interpretation.
The song tastes of bitterness from ended relationships and unresolved feelings surrounding that. It verbalizes the complicated and slightly resentful emotions of the situation with a synth-pop musical cruise.
- The Waiting Game
This song also details self-criticism, as Styles describes a cycle he continues to find himself in. His behavior seemingly led him to write songs about it, resulting in apologies and self-deprecation because it does not end.
The chorus describes trying your luck in love and justifying waiting around for “the one” even though “…it all adds up to nothing.” One of Styles’ more relatable songs on the album, it connects with audiences who feel discouraged with the outcomes of their search for love. Although riddled with self-sabotage and draining hope, the song’s instrumentals ease the intensity of the lyrical content.
- Season 2 Weight Loss
The title of this song sparked conversation concerning its meaning. Harry Styles quickly defined it for audiences: TV shows that are renewed for a second season often welcome back their original actors, but these actors have a visible “glow up” or stark difference in appearance from the first season.
The song asks its audience if the subject is good enough or beautiful enough for acceptance. The chorus includes, “Holding out, hoping you will love me now / Do you love me now?” It dances around themes of introspection and self-reflection while remaining stylistically hazy with specific lyrical details.
- Coming Up Roses
The only song Styles wrote by himself, “Coming Up Roses”, takes its place as the signature ballad he features on every album. Originally written as a Christmas song, the song presents a different take on the great love everyone seeks.
Styles explains that a love can be special and the greatest one of your life without lasting forever. He destresses the belief that to be considered successful, love must compensate with longevity, arguing that there is an importance in recognizing the impact from the passionate, yet short-lived experiences.
Styles wears his heart on his sleeve as he opens up about his struggles in relationships. He implies he feels like his burdens demand too much from his partners, and longs to break free from the pressures of a relationship. The chorus asks his partner, presumably based on Styles, to live in the moment, avoiding thoughts of consequences, because ultimately it feels best to let go.
The musical accompaniment of soft piano chords and a lyrical melody embrace the vulnerability of the message. The emphasis on being together in the present strengthens the insecurity of fear, but still leaves the emotional wound exposed.
- Pop
“Pop” represents Styles’ exploration within the pop genre. He has said many times that he truly enjoys making pop music. This song explores whether Styles is comfortable with his performance in pop, or if he has room to explore further and grow out of his comfort zone as a one-genre artist.
This head-bopping tune shows how playful Styles can get with his song creations. In his previous album, “Harry’s House”, Styles uses “pop” as a metaphor for intimacy, so fans are curiously interpreting the song’s meanings in various ways. The lyrics surfacely reference the music genre, but also potentially hint at dabbling in ketamine and the experience of bisexuality, though Styles does not directly confirm or deny.
“Pop” continues the artist’s trend of abstract phrases and teasing interpretations, playfully running circles around listeners and their numerous analyses.
- Dance No More
This song was inspired by a night out in Berlin after touring, an experience that left Styles enthusiastic enough to write about it. “I remember … standing in the middle of the dance floor, and feeling so unbelievably free and safe,” Styles said in an interview with Apple Music.
In one experience, Styles had a friend who DJed and happened to join him and other friends on the dance floor. This is an uncommon practice, as they all expressed their observation that DJs don’t dance, a phrase that later inspired the track title.
The song describes the unique experience a club dance floor brings, and the overwhelming sense of release it stimulates.
- Paint by Numbers
Arguably the most vulnerable song on the album, “Paint by Numbers” discusses the struggle Styles faces dealing with grief and pressure in the public eye. The song seemingly references his late friend and band mate, Liam Payne, who passed away in October 2024.
“Paint by Numbers” was originally the first track on the album, and although it sounds sonically independent from the rest of the songs, Styles included it for a moment of touching sensitivity.
“I think writing it and keeping it on my hard drive is, I don’t know, what feels brave about that in any way?” Styles said during an interview with Zane Lowe. He went on to say that even public figures are ordinary people, and he strives to break the spell of seeming extraordinary when there is beauty in the normal.
While discussing the song with Zane Lowe, Styles touched on how strange it was to struggle with Payne’s passing while the public contributed weight in that grief. Lyrics like “Kids with water guns…” allude to the One Direction days when the band played with water guns on stage.
Regardless of who the subject is, “Paint by Numbers” is a display of vulnerability and the urge to remain true to your character in the midst of outside influences.
- Carla’s Song
“Carla’s Song,” like a number of other songs on the album, was inspired by actual events in Styles’ life. He introduced Paul Simon’s music to his friend, Carla, who was wholly unfamiliar with it. Styles detailed the experience of watching Carla discover and love an artist he reveres, all in the same moment. This small interaction reminded Styles of his motivations for pursuing music in the first place.
The song states music is created for the human experience and it is always waiting for us to search for and discover it. The concept applies to a number of life’s offerings: you may not know something is great until you find it, but it is always there, expecting your arrival and providing you enjoyment. This realization relieves Styles of the pressure to make good music, he says. Music will be around for years after his time, and it is meant to be enjoyed for lifetimes.
“Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally” is a classic mix of Styles’ cheeky vagueness and exploration of insecurity and vulnerability, all integrated into different versions of pop music. Fans received a fresh blend of the expected and the unknown in the album’s 12 tracks.
“Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally” balances serious emotional commitments with the surrender of intensity and complicated feelings. It represents the limbo of life in love: to care or not to care? Styles leaves audiences understanding it is okay to let go of the pressures weighing on you, but it is also equally as okay to choose to dwell in lifelong commitments.
