Pitchfork: Harry's House

[COOOK 76,405]

"Harry Styles’ melodious third solo album sometimes lacks substance, but style always abounds."

Spoiler

"Striking a balance between aloofness and earnestness is something of a Harry Styles specialty. Though direct touchpoints with fans are limited—he is minimally active on social media—his keen sensitivity towards them is evident. In that 2017 Rolling Stoneprofile, Styles defended his young, predominantly female audience: “Young girls like the Beatles. You gonna tell me they’re not serious?” he said then. Lately, he’s commiserated with them. When he introduced Shania Twain, who made a guest appearance during his Coachella set last month, Styles deployed familiar pop feminist logic: “This lady… told me that men are trash,” he quipped. In the same set, he debuted the Harry’s House track “Boyfriends,” opening by saying, “To boyfriends everywhere, fuck you.”

Is this pandering? Maybe. Call it penance for the misogynistic rock tropes that Styles occasionally reproduced in earlier work. “They think you’re so easy/They take you for granted,” he sighs over finger-picked guitar on the song about boyfriends, voice multiplied into a chorus of soothing affirmations—an old folk lullaby for the spurned and exhausted. (Some—identity politics purists, Larry truthers—will wonder whether Styles’ ode to the hardships of dating men is an output of imaginative empathy or of personal experience, but they’re unlikely to get answers.)"

"In this way, Styles invites participants into his project of pleasure-seeking: He is a nice guy, so adoring him is uncomplicated and guilt-free. That the persona doesn’t get grating—with the exception of “Matilda,” a wan ballad whose namesake gets lost in Styles’ abundant sympathy for her—is a feat. So what if Harry’s House isn’t especially bold; innovation is not a requirement of a solid pop album, and working too hard is out of fashion, anyway. Better to slip on your Gucci pajamas and just enjoy."

Full review here.

Previous scores:

   

[ConnorFilm 6,679]

They scored Chromatica one point higher. 

 

[Cameltoe Chariot 11,809]

Can't believe they only gave his last album a 6.0  my god Pitchfork has really sh*tty reviewers, they all automatically look down on anything released by someone even remotely famous.

[lavender blonde 512]

Imo both of his previous albums were better, but Harry's House isn't bad though

[Flawless 2,092]

They were generous with this score but totally delusional when this is his highest rated album. imo it's his worst