Members of boy-bands going on to illustrious solo careers is somewhat of a rare bird. You have some standout examples like Michael Jackson (Jackson 5), Justin Timberlake (*N Sync), and George Michael (Wham!) who went on to be megastars that made people forget they were ever anything but a solo artist, but in general it’s a format that hasn’t provided a ton of upward mobility historically, especially when you compare their output as solo artists to their work in a prior group.
Harry Styles (One Direction) is certainly one of those outliers. His 2022 album Harry’s House isn’t just an excellent boy-band-star-turned-solo-artist effort, or an excellent pop album, it’s simply one of the best albums to be released thus far in the 2020’s. Along with collecting every single notable achievement on the award circuit (2023 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, 2022 Mercury Music Prize nomination, 2023 Brit Awards Album of the Year), Harry’s House broke all kinds of streaming records and received critical acclaim.
It’s easy to see why. The production is stellar, the lyrical themes are introspective, and the musical output is electrically eclectic. Combining elements of pop rock, funk, new-wave, and synth-pop, the album covers massive sonic ground and yet manages to feel like a tidy vignette of art. While certainly not a concept album, Styles’ approach to replicating a “day in the life” with this album (Harry’s House referring to his thoughts throughout the course of a given day and not a physical location) shines through in an intimate way. You can feel the swirling emotions throughout nearly every song.
Standout Songs: “As It Was”, “Daylight”, “Little Freak”, “Satellite”
