Fine Line, Harry Styles

Harry Styles, British singer-songwriter of One Direction fame, unleashes his wild creativity in his colorful and self-aware sophomore album “Fine Line.” Straying far from his boy band roots, Styles cements his status as a modern rockstar with his electric live performances and sequin-covered jumpsuits, as well as his energetic vocals and positive attitude. Combining experimental instrumentals with visual lyrics and jubilant vocals that radiate the warmth of a sunny July day, the album takes you on a whirlwind trip down a rabbit hole of emotions that are surprisingly personal but still relatable and human.

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The guitar- and drum-heavy production of the album allows Styles to stretch his creative muscles as he plays with funky rhythms reminiscent of 70s and early 80s rock-and-roll. On “Adore You,” Styles combines drums, guitar, and a synth-like sound to accompany high-pitched vocals that add another instrument to the mix altogether. The result is an upbeat pop song that remains grounded with rich drumbeats and guitar riffs. “Sunflower, Vol. 6” may be Styles’ most experimental song to date, as the quirky instrumental patterns make you wonder if you are on a psychedelic trip. Styles admitted that taking hallucinogens with close friends was a way for him to explore his creativity in a different environment while writing the album. Beginning with a hypnotic, back-and-forth note before quickly transitioning into a bouncy rhythm of drums and electronic beats, “Sunflower, Vol. 6” radiates pure sunshine and sucks you into a spinning disco.

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“Fine Line” goes beyond just an album and creates a joyful world for the listener to experience. Not to mention the fictional island of Eroda that Styles and his team created for the music video and promotion of “Adore You.” “Watermelon Sugar,” an instant classic that permeated everyone’s summer 2020 playlists, paints the picture of a perfect summer day with lyrics like “Strawberries/On a summer evenin’/Baby, you're the end of June/I want your belly/And that summer feelin’/Getting washed away in you.” When the song plays in the dead of winter, you are thrown back into the effortless and free days of summer. The album takes a somber shift with “Cherry,” an apt title for a quaint ballad about an ex-lover that is both sweet and tart. With lyrics like “I, I just miss/I just miss your accent and your friends/Did you know I still talk to them?/Does he take you walking round his parents' gallery?” As Styles regretfully mourns the end of a relationship, he not only mourns his ex but the people they will become that will not know each other as they once did.

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Despite Styles’ rise to fame as a boy band star, he finds room on “Fine Line” to play with a childlike wonder through funky and whimsical vocals. Not only does Styles showcase his vocal range on “Treat People With Kindness,” a phrase that has become synonymous with Styles himself, but he also unleashes his emotions towards the end of the song as he riffs with the choir cheerfully singing in the background. A giddy display of emotion that encapsulates the optimistic message of the song and radiates through the album. Expanding on the experimental instrumentals of “Sunflower, Vol. 6,” Styles ends the song with a series of playful owl-like hoots and howls that remind the listener, and Styles, not to take life too seriously. On “Fine Line,” the final and titular track, Styles builds up to an uplifting and inspiring crescendo of drums and trumpets accompanied by his powerful repetition of the phrase “We’ll be all right.” With the COVID-19 pandemic setting in just three months after the album’s release, “Fine Line” became an anthem of hope for avid fans and casual listeners alike. The album remains a beacon of hope and joy as the colorful instrumentals, world-building, and jubilant vocals remind us that life is too short not to find the childlike wonder in the everyday.