Harry Styles is fully at home in ‘Harry’s House’

Harry Styles, “Harry’s House” (Columbia Records)

If the 13 tracks of Harry Styles’ third LP are the walls in which he lives, “Harry’s House” is a place of self-expression, happiness and healing. From the jubilant, funky “Cinema,” to the meandering cruiser “Keep Driving,” Styles shows a breadth of style that matches the album’s emotional range.

Styles set the tone for the album with his single “As It Was.” The up-tempo track sounds carefree at first listen, but the lyrics reveal a heavier premise. It’s a song that thematically explores the fear and pain associated with accepting that you must let something, or someone, go. It’s a single that teases Styles’ comfort with vulnerability — something that he displays countless times on the record.

Similarly, “Grapejuice” is deceivingly upbeat with synthesized horns and even a subtle, cheerful whistle at the end of the second verse. The song chronicles a relationship’s end (“There’s never been someone who’s so perfect for me/ But I got over it”) and how just as a hangover feels harder with age, it is harder, too, to hide from your emotions the older you get (“I pay for it more than I did back then”). Even when teasing out uncomfortable moments, the musical composition suggests there’s freedom in fully embracing each feeling.

In “Harry’s House,” Styles proves his talent for storytelling — whether it’s his own stories of pain or joy or putting himself in the shoes of another. Perhaps the most heartbreaking track is “Matilda” — a song that made several of his friends cry on first listen, according to his interview with Zane Lowe. 

Throughout the record, Styles is confident, but not cocky, bringing self-awareness and ease into each song. “Harry’s House” finds him at his best — free, observant and content. RAGAN CLARK, MDT/AP