Since One Direction, Harry Styles has approached Rolling Stone's archival issues to create albums like collecting mood boards.
The two-single record is dripping in rock history references—a little Pink Floyd here and the hit songs are clearly out of step with contemporary chart trends.
Joni Mitchell is an obvious loser for Styles' third album: its title, "Harry's House," is a nod to his 1975 song "Harry's House/Centerpiece."
But the album's first single, "As It Was," leaps forward nearly a decade with bouncing drum machines and a synth hook reminiscent of A-Ha's "Take On Me."
Styles sings softly, his voice like a dusting of powdered sugar, about a lost love, but the song's fast tempo and upbeat chimes keep the mood light.
If Styles' last record was about having sex and feeling down, "As It Was" sounds like having sex, feeling down, then getting over it.
Seems" is the best I can do, given the lyrics' vagueness - Styles' consistent lack of songwriting.
A vignette in the poem is even trickier: Harry is alone on the floor, in a drunken puddle, calling out to a concerned loved one.