DECOR FOR HARRY'S HOUSE: LET'S TALK

Good morning, good day, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. The windows have been thrown open; the dust whacked from the ceiling fan, and the lamps flickered on. The AC unit has been restored, and the sunshine peaks in, covering everything in yellow. This is Harry's House, and the backdoor is always open.

Harry Styles welcomes us all into his humble abode with his third and most personal solo album yet, "Harry's House." It's inspiring yet comforting; it's new yet so familiar.

I didn't have any idea what this album would sound like. My dad likes to say that the third album of any artist is the most important as it's time you, as a fan, decide if this artist is truly for you. In my experience, Harry could do anything, and I would still be a fan. Yet, he chooses to continue writing and producing some really great music. The funny thing is that although the three albums sound vaguely related, they are different stylistically. Most artists make music that is synonymous with previous works of theirs. Not Harry. This makes it difficult to define his sound as it constantly changes.

Harry aims for a soft pop record with disco-esque beats with this latest installment. Some tracks include inaudible vocals, some one-word images, some hard-hitting, introspective lyrics. Here are my top 5 favorite tracks and what makes them crucial interior design for "Harry's House."

5. Satellite:

Imagine floating in space with no sense of direction. Imagine feeling happy and sad simultaneously, loving and hating where you are and what you're doing. That's what Satellite sounds like. It's like being bittersweetly disoriented by the world around you. I'm desperate, yet I'm still dancing, looking my agony in the eye while flapping about my jazz hands. The song encompasses what it's like to miss someone so much that you can't seem to stop hoping they'll show up. This conflict eventually builds into this great instrumental/yelping section, where Harry gets very intense, practically begging for the listener to "pull" him in. I also heard someone say that this song is like a part two to "Wolves" by One Direction. And I love it just for that idea. My favorite lyric from this track is:

"I'm in an LA mood

I don't wanna talk to you

She said, 'Give me a day or two'"

4. Daylight:

This song sounds like, well, Daylight. It makes me feel like lying in the sun or swimming in white sheets till noon. Once again, there's longing there and indecisiveness regarding a relationship. The relationship is bipolar and frustrating, each partner being stubborn and complicated. But at the end of the day, neither partner can give each other up, ultimately having Harry "cursing the daylight." The song is sweet and contains peculiar lyrics, using a spoon and honey as a personal analogy. I like this song because it is excellent at being upbeat and cute while containing a narrative circling a problematic relationship. It's honest, pretty, and a good piece to dance to (what could be better). My favorite lyric from this track is:

"Get the picture, cut out my middle

You ain't got time for me right now"

3. Grapejuice:

Grapejuice reminds me of sitting out all day, reading lousy poetry, and listening to whatever comes on the radio. This song seems to have its entire aesthetic as I can envision the scenery it comes with. In the song, Harry uses some sort of voice changer to make him sound very far away and static-y. The entire song is supposedly about wine and how much Harry loves it. But I call BS. It's way too beautiful and calming and sweet to be about wine. The wine is a powerful analogy for the relationship he feels he needs, like an addiction. I really love this song, mostly because I can see it being a go-to summer song. Picture me in my car, windows down, and it starts raining. Everything is gray and humid, perfect for a song like Grapejuice; mellow and exciting at the same time. Another great thing about this song is that it's the third track, meaning it's the song that sets the standard for what the album is. The more upbeat songs settle out and waste away to nothing but Grapejuice. My favorite lyric from this track is:

"I pay for it more than I did back then"

Could this be about more than just wine prices?

2. Love Of My Life:

WE ARE GETTING TO THE GOOD STUFF NOW. This song is almost my number one, but not quite. Love Of My Life takes the cake on intensity. The whole song sounds so direct, almost uncomfortably direct as if he's singing to you and only you. It has dark undertones and moody melodies as if Harry's holding eye contact with you while singing. My favorite thing about this song is that it's the album's last track. It completely rounds out the entire record while adding an acute flare of something unexpected. In an interview, Harry wrote it off as the song being about England and how it is the 'love of his life.' Something tells me there's more to the story. Not to get too into muddled controversy, but I have one word to say and one word only: Larry. This song reminds me of something 5 Seconds of Summer would sing on one of their newer albums with the guitar in the bridge and the bass volume. Regardless, Love Of My Life is a stellar track that ties up Harry's House with a beautiful bow and bouquet, the perfect welcome home gift. My favorite lyric from this track is:

"I don't know you half as well as all my friends

I won't pretend that I've been doin' everything I can

To get to know your creases and your ends"

1. Keep Driving:

If you haven't noticed, these song descriptions seem to get longer the closer I get to my favorite. As we move up the ranks, I have more to say. Here's the deal: if you were to listen to this entire album right now and were told to pick my favorite, I don't think anyone would guess this is mine. The thing that makes it so unique is my interpretation. I've watched a couple of people on the internet debrief the meaning of this song, picking it apart as this profound and heartbreaking love song. That's not anywhere close to how I heard it. The song starts with Harry naming random things from eyewear to pool activities to breakfast items. But what gets me is the chorus. He talks about ignoring the way a car engine sounds and instead they just "keep driving." On the surface, this seems like a pretty pointless and stupid song, but not to me. I internalized it that though all of these crazy things are happening and people are caught up in the silliest of things, we notice it and just keep driving, trying to ignore the reality of our manufactured society. It reminds me of driving with a best friend, listening to music too loud, and talking about the people we hate. As a teenager, it seems understandable to try to ignore all the wrong things. Instead, we focus on one of our only freedoms: driving. The bridge is excellent because it gets loud and obnoxious, naming these stupid things we value as cool: cocaine, science, America, life hacks, and sea views. Don't forget the shameless mention of side boob. That was a nice touch, Harry. My favorite lyric from this track is:

"A small concern with how the engine sounds

We held darkness in withheld clouds"

I'M NOT DONE YET...

0. Little Freak

Okay, so I wrote this original blog post a couple of days ago, and it's come to my attention that I want to add a song to this favorites list. I think I completely overlooked this song when I was first listening to Harry's House, as the name ruled it out for me. I am still not entirely sure why Harry would name such a touching song Little Freak, but I digress; This song rocks. Not really. It's kind of gut-wrenching and #relatable for teenagers everywhere that have ex-crushes they still see around. But I love it even more for that. I'm obsessed with the sentiment Harry expresses in this song. The sentiment that although the person he's talking about could be completely moved on and doing something insane, he doesn't care. Because he's not thinking about all that stuff like what they're doing, who they're with, where they are; He's just thinking about them, and that's it. It's a pretty good twist on the classic, I-wonder-who-you're-hooking-up-with-now troupe. What's getting me is I can't come up with who this song is about for the life of me. Who hasn't seen his birthmark? Maybe it's for the fans. That's a pretty sweet sentiment too. It also borderline sounds like a One Direction song which never hurts, in my opinion. So all-in-all, I'll overlook the title just because it only says Little Freak once in the entire song. Now, just imagine the chorus having overlaid melodies with the other four One Direction members. Nice. My favorite lyric from this track is:

"Did you dress up for Halloween?

I spilled beer on your friend, I'm not sorry

A golf swing and a trampoline

Maybe we'll do this again"

In conclusion, I'm pretty pleased with this album, and I didn't even mention some of the most talked-about tracks from the album like "As It Was," "Late Night Talking," "Matilda," and "Boyfriends." I didn't expect to like this album as much as I do, especially after I first heard it. But it seems to be aging well. The more and more I listen, the more and more I feel comforted with the growth he's had as an artist. This album proved to me that he's not simply moving into a mainstream artist role. Instead, he's changing that role completely, making it his own, and sharing some great insight into how he feels as a human. Humanity is a great way to summarize the album. It represents a lot of perspectives of humanity, from the fun and partying to the sad and loneliness humanity often hides. Now, go into this great big world, aka Harry's House, explore, sit in every chair, inspect cabinets, and stay a while.