The Stages of Harry Styles’ “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.”

If someone put headphones on me, hit play on Harry Styles’ “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.,” and told me to react, my first thought? This sounds more like Twenty One Pilots than anything. My second thought? I dig it. 

Released March 6, Styles’ fourth album marked his pivot to dance-pop. Across 12 tracks, he captures the highs and lows of an existential crisis. One moment you’re vibrantly on the dance floor, melancholy the next. 

“Kiss All the Time. Dance, Occasionally.” takes you through this journey in four stages.

Stage 1: Surface-level connection (“Aperture,” “American Girls,” and “Ready, Steady, Go!”)

Stage 2: Realizing that those connections are superficial (“Are You Listening Yet?” “Taste Back,” and “The Waiting Game.”)

Stage 3: Yearning for a deeper connection (“Season 2 Weight Loss,” “Coming Up Roses,” and “Pop.”)

Stage 4: Gratitude in welcoming a new outlook ( “Dance No More,” “Paint by Numbers,” and “Carla’s Song.” )

Styles shares his experience of constantly chasing the “disco,” and the inevitable realization that only true fulfillment comes from loved ones. 

Nothing adventurous was accomplished from crossing this new genre; every song felt oddly familiar, bringing on a deja vu feeling every so often. But, hearing this new side from Styles specifically was intriguing. 

Track 2: “American Girls” could have been the lead single with its airy beat and smooth vocals, but it feels too much like his previously released songs. Setting “Aperture” as the lead single leans more toward the EDM side, showing the album’s direction. 

Elements of Twenty One Pilots’ style are especially noticeable in “Taste Back,” which features funky, synthetic beats. Additionally, the character Blurryface makes a brief appearance in the background of “Dance No More.” These familiar touches may have heightened my appreciation for the album, as I am a bigger fan of Twenty One Pilots than of Harry Styles.

In the end, getting emotional over a dance-pop album wasn’t exactly what was expected, but it should’ve been expected from Mr. “Matilda” and “Fine Line.” “The Waiting Game” took me by surprise with its acoustic guitar and electric beats. 

What surprised me even more were the hard-hitting lyrics: “Playing the waiting game, but it all adds up to nothing.” It’s a brutally reflective song that forces a listener to call themselves out and question their own waiting game. 

Styles may not have reinvented the wheel for dance-pop, but he pulled his signature move and made it personal. The ultimate takeaway from the album is that there is a beautifully messy journey through this disco of life.