Your Review
CRITIC REVIEWS
80
On his superb solo debut, the One Direction heartthrob claims his turf as a true rock & roll prince, a sunshine superman, a cosmic dancer in touch with his introspective acoustic side as well as his glam flash.
80
‘Harry Styles’ is clearly a by-product of its creator’s musical tastes and interests.
80
Harry Styles feels comfortable and readily worn-in.
75
Reconciling the folkie and the rogue hardly seems like Harry’s priority; instead, the 23-year-old basks in the privilege of paying tribute to his many musical heroes, and trying on all the styles that fit.
75
On the one hand, it’s a wholly safe product, relying on familiar signifiers with decades of proven success. But it takes a bit of risk in asking Styles to take them all on himself, to present himself not as just a singer or frontman but also an artist, one who aspires to someday be considered among the pantheon of the greats.
75
Harry Styles is fun listening and will rightly soundtrack many a summer. But after demanding to be treated as a capital-A Artist, Harry Styles finds himself atop a pedestal without anything to say. Whether or not that changes, he sure is pretty to look at up there.
70
Harry Styles works exceedingly well as a modern pop album and an extension of the One D sound and brand, but as the kind of personal statement Styles wants to make, it comes very close, but ultimately falls just short.
70
With his debut, Styles manages to escape the notorious curse of former boy banders, turned leading men, creating an immersive, reference-fuelled tribute to classic rock for the millennial generation.
70
There are plenty of signs though that, given time, Styles could carve out quite a niche for himself in the confessional singer/songwriter bracket.
68
Conventionally speaking, this sort of straightforward and well-performed hard rock has been M.I.A. in the last decade, and it's nice to hear it brought back so confidently, even if it is just another marketing technique.
68
The One Direction member’s solo debut pays fine tribute to classic rock’n’roll and shows off his exceptional voice, if not his enigmatic persona.
60
Harry Styles’ debut album is a not-that-bad-actually mish-mash of Los Angeles’ style classic rock and ballads.
60
His debut album, Harry Styles, ticks every box on the Take Me Seriously checklist.
60
Styles has opened himself up, as best he can, to his audience, and by gathering a solid team around him to help achieve that he’s created an immersive, well-produced collection of songs that isn’t trying to prove anything in particular to anyone.
60
There seems to be a creative tug-of-war permeating the album: It could be the record label not wanting Styles to veer too far into singer-songwriter territory; it could be Styles himself afraid of penning music his predominantly younger audience wouldn't normally listen to. Whatever it is, it gives the album a minor but nonetheless pervasive identity crisis.
60
This album is no masterpiece, but it still feels like a promising start to his solo career.
60
What is on offer ... are lilting melodies and scattershot lyrics set to picked and strummed acoustic guitars, paddling piano chords, yearning slide guitar licks and fiddly-diddly lead solos, handclaps and yelps.
60
This album was born as a song cycle about relationships. On that count, Harry Styles doesn’t disappoint – even if, overall, you wish this album rocked its innovations harder.
10mo
58
Fortunately, the missteps don’t detract too much from this ambitious, if slightly unfocused, debut.
52
On his magpie solo debut, the former One Direction frontman Harry Styles serves up a series of 70’s rock poses that occasionally hit the spot but ultimately fail to convince.
40
Harry Styles' solo debut falls way short of its quality singles. Also HOW IS THERE DAD ROCK ON THIS THING?
30
In trying to be all things to all fans, all critics, all expectations, all click-bait corners, Harry Styles has failed to make a defining statement.
easily the best thing to come out of any of the one direction guys
This week we had two perfect examples of maturation in music. The first, american pop-rock band Paramore breaking out of their cage into a much more colorful and exciting album, and now, the ex-One Direction singer Harry Styles shining on his own in a solo effort that refutes (almost) completely everything he did with his previous bandmates. While both albums are undeniably referential in essence, Harry Styles' self-titled LP reads like a full exposure of his upbringing as a musical artist. ... read more
As someone who never cared about One Direction, I am thoroughly impressed with this album. Songs such as "Sign of the Times" and "Kiwi" allude to old rock and roll while remaining polished and friendly. Other tracks including "Only Angel", "Woman", and "Carolina" are sexy, fun, and appropriate for the summer. However, this is a record that can follow you into autumn due to tracks like "Ever Since New York" and "From the ... read more
It appears that every One Direction member has taken a completely different approach towards their solo efforts, but it’s refreshing to see that this group of guys who create records with each other, are so diverse when it comes to hearing their own thoughts individually. As expected, Harry was the one with the most diverse album so far I believe. It rediscovers real music writing, and real instruments and the knowing of relating to emotions from the music that you no longer tend to hear ... read more
END OF YEAR LISTS
| #6 | / | Time |
| #7 | / | Yahoo Music |
| #9 | / | Mashable |
| #10 | / | Billboard |
| #13 | / | Fuse |
| #17 | / | Rolling Stone |
| #17 | / | Rolling Stone (Australia) |
| #27 | / | Baeble Music |
| #33 | / | Complex |
| / | Esquire (UK) | |
| / | V Magazine | |
| / | Variety |
MISC LISTS
| #5 | / | Rolling Stone (Pop) |
| #11 | / | The Genius Community |
| #20 | / | Complex (First Half) |
| #49 | / | SPIN (First Half) |
| / | AllMusic (Pop) |
Track List
- Meet Me in the Hallway
- Sign of the Times
- Carolina
- Two Ghosts
- Sweet Creature
- Only Angel
- Kiwi
- Ever Since New York
- Woman
- From the Dining Table
Added on: April 13, 2017
