July 22nd, 2023, signaled the end of Harry Styles’ Love on Tour. Once he was finished, Styles decided to take a break from music rather than jump right back into production. He claimed in the interview that “the end of the last tour felt like the end of a chapter to me. It was just a time for me to look at the way that I’d done everything.” Since joining the band One Direction in 2010, Styles said he always did as much as possible and thought that would always be the case. Once he turned 30, Styles wanted to assess the direction his life was going. He wanted to make sure he still loved making music, not just because it was something he had always done. He didn’t think it was fair to the fans, and most importantly to himself, if he didn’t love it anymore. So he moved to Rome, Italy. He went out at night, met new and interesting people, and made connections. He picked up running and cooking and found appreciation for how the people of Rome lived their lives. One night in Berlin, tears poured down his face as he realized that he could finally breathe for the first time in a long time. 

Track 1: Aperture 

Rating: 7/10 

As the first song released, Aperture sets the mood for the album. It uses heavy, disco-esque background music, and the lyrics make you feel like you are on the dance floor. Aperture actually means letting light in through a camera lens, so Styles is claiming that he is letting light back into his life, after realizing he needed to step away from music for a while. In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, Styles says that aperture “is the freest song on the record.” When I first heard the song, I was surprised. It felt like Harry Styles was taking a new direction with his music that was much different than albums like “Harry’s House.” After listening to it a few times, these lyrics stood out to me: “I won’t stray from it / I don’t know these spaces / Time won’t wait on me / I wanna know what safe is.” I realized that for me, this song was about trying new things and looking forward to life rather than holding on to the past. It is not my favorite song, but I love how bright the song is and how it sets the mood for the entire album. 

Track 2: American Girls 

Rating: 8/10

American Girls is a poppy, catchy song that showcases how Styles saw his closest friends settle down and get married, each to an American girl. Zane Lowe describes this song as a bridge between the old Harry Styles and the new version he has become. It is the most playful song, and seemingly the least reflective, but there is still unexpected depth. Styles also wrote that it is a lonely song as he found himself reflecting on his life and how he wanted the next five years to go. This song is really about the magic of finding the right person at the right time, and he explains that in these lyrics, “Right at home / With perfect timing / A face that knows / Her perfect lighting / ‘Cause time will show / That you should try it / Those American girls / You spend your life with.” There are so many layers to this song, and that really stands out to me. 

Track 3: Ready, Steady, Go

Rating: 7/10

Track three, Ready, Steady, Go, continues the upbeat, disco trend. The pulsing kick drums and bold background music make the song feel very dynamically alive. I get this major sense of anticipation and urgency when I listen to it. The repetition of lines like “ready, steady, go” is not just there as filler sentences, but to build up the severity of the song to a peak. I really enjoyed listening to this song because it gives me the feeling of someone truly lost in what they are doing. There is this constant push and pull in the tone of Ready, Steady, Go, which again demonstrates the duality of emotions that I find to be a recurring theme in Styles’s new album. 

Track 4: Are You Listening Yet?

Rating: 7/10

This is the oldest song on the album, and Styles wrote it while feeling overwhelmed on tour. To be honest, this song took me a while to understand and like. At first, it was my least favorite out of the whole album. As I continued to listen, however, I found myself reading the lyrics more closely and falling in love with the final verse. In the interview, Styles says, “It’s like, by the time you are listening, it’s finished.” Which very much happened to me. In the song, he writes, “You keep forgetting your mantra, which thoughts you had on your own / Ignoring all of your friends at the end of their rope / Now you’re all out of choices, are you listening yet? / Between your head and heart and somewhere else instead / Oh, can you hear the voice, the one inside your head? / Oh, are you listening yet? Oh, are you listening yet?” Styles wrote this song as a reflection on his life and how the mistakes he has made have led him to finally understand himself and others. This song represents how a person can get lost in the chaos of life and reminds us to realize things before it is too late. 

Track 5: Taste Back

Rating: 10/10

The song is about an old lover or friend calling for the first time in a while, wanting to be with him again. As Styles sings, he goes through this questioning process because he doesn’t know if they got their “taste back” for him or if they just want attention. With lyrics like “Must be lonely out in Paris if you talk like that / It was tough with the time, but you called me back / And you know that you can tell me, I can take that / Did you get your taste back? / Or do you just need a little love?” We can see how difficult it is to tell what the person’s intentions are. Taste Back is my favorite song on the album. Everything about this song, from the music to the lyrics, stands out to me. Although the song’s concept is sad and emotionally confusing, for me, it is a warning to let go of those who keep you in the past and to move forward in life. 

Track 6: The Waiting Game

Rating: 9/10

The Waiting Game is, in my opinion, the first melancholy song on the album. It is also the most introspective. While in Italy, Styles reflected on his life and realized he was constantly repeating the same cycles. While those cycles brought him success, he felt they lacked meaning. The song describes a person who “romanticises their shortcomings” to avoid how emotionally empty they feel. Styles says, “Do you tantalise and titillate / Knowing it won’t make the grade? / Do you leave it on the table? / And you apologise, emotionally dry / And years go by.” Essentially, he is examining why some people’s means do not go deep enough and why they are never committed to a relationship. I do enjoy this song, and it really makes me think about the effort I put into my relationships and life.

Track 7: Season 2 Weight Loss

Rating: 10/10

With bold drums and synth accompaniment, this song has quickly become one of my favorites, and it stems from an interesting concept. In the interview, Styles talks about how, in a popular Netflix show, everyone comes back in the second season looking amazing, thanks to nutritionists and trainers. He explores the concept of returning after a period away, and even though the character remains the same, they “have cheekbones,” meaning they have become a better version of themselves. He then goes into saying, “It’s hard to tell / when the thoughts are my own / And the old hat gets harder to hold / Holding, holding out / Hoping you will love me now / Do you love me now? Do you? Do you?” This song shows Styles’ emotions about how people perceive him and his worries that, if he changes, they will like the new version of him better or worse. This song wraps up the whole album by reflecting on whether he comes back changed after a long time away, if people will still accept him, and then knowing it’s okay if they don’t. 

Track 8: Coming Up Roses 

Rating: 10/10

This song was supposed to be a Christmas song, believe it or not. However, as Styles kept writing, the words “just fell out” and became a love song of how special something can be. The song talks about the newness of a relationship and the overthinking: even if it’s going well now, will it still be good later? The song shows the beauty that can come out of something, even if it is just temporary. The lyrics “And everything seems to be coming up roses / But I’m scared if we’re both right / Does that mean we’re not aligned?” put in perspective how big issues at the time feel smaller later in life. It gives me hope that, when I look back on my life, everything will have turned out better than I could ever have dreamed. It also tells me to live in the moment rather than worrying about things I cannot control. 

Track 9: Pop

Rating: 6/10

This song is energetic and has hidden meaning, but it just didn’t stand out to me on the album. With lyrics like“I pull, and I pull at the thread / It’s making me pop (Pop) / I wanted to behave / But I know I’ll do it again / I know I’ll do it again, it’s making me pop (Pop),” this song is supposed to utilize pop music to notice that he is unraveling, and it’s almost making him “pop” from the pressure and stress. 

Track 10: Dance No More

Rating: 8/10

I love this song so much. It is such a lively track and has so many easter eggs from Harry Styles’ life. There are Simon and Garfunkel references when Styles lets his keyboardist create a section of the song towards the end, as well as his personal feeling of finally appreciating the dance floor when he is not performing. The character in the song just wants to step away from DJing to experience dancing with their friends, “DJs don’t dance no more (Ah) / We wanna dance with all our friends / DJs don’t dance no more / It’s feeling like the music has been Heaven sent / And that there’s no difference in between the tears and the sweat.” This song was inspired by a close friend and explores the balancing act between living life and performing for others. 

Track 11: Paint By Numbers 

Rating: 7/10

This is easily the saddest song on the track, and originally, Styles wanted to start the album with it. The title Paint by Numbers describes how a person is given a picture and expected to fill it in exactly right, or the image will not turn out. Styles loves it when an artist discovers themselves, and he loves the moment that they fall in love with something. I relate this back to Styles not wanting to make music that just checks boxes; he wants it to be genuine and full of meaning from his own experiences. “Oh, what a gift it is to be noticed / But it’s nothing to do with me / You’ve got to wonder if there’s a reason to believe / It’s a lifetime of learning to paint by numbers / And watching the colours run.” When I listen to this song, it tells me the importance of taking risks, not coloring inside the lines all the time, and having creative freedom. 

Track 12: Carla’s Song

Rating: 10/10

As the final song on the album, it wraps everything up by showcasing the beauty in life that Harry Styles has come to know. This song has taken inspiration directly from one of Styles’s friends, Carla. Inspired by a moment spent waiting at a friend’s house, Carla discovers Paul Simon for the first time, and Styles then shows her Simon and Garfunkel songs, including “Kathy’s Song.“ Seeing her discover something new and experience joy in it inspired him to write a song about her. One of my favorite lyrics is “You’ve been a baby sleeping upon a candy bar / Till your eyes open on the changing summer light / It’s all waiting there for you.” Styles explains that a baby will have tried something sweet for the first time, and you can see the pure joy in their eyes, even though that thing has been there all this time. It is such a wonderful take on the joy of experiencing something for the first time. The music feels very cinematic and is a wonderful way to end the album.

This album is about self-reflection. Styles has made changes in his life that have impacted his relationships, and he expresses all the emotions he felt during his break from music in these songs. I have been listening to KATTDO nonstop for the last week, and I find something new I love about it each time, which is beautiful to me. The raw experiences that inspired Styles to make this album teach us so much about our lives. I love how upbeat and full of life this album is. I hope that the world takes away that self-reflection is important, and that getting out of your comfort zone to create new things is something everyone can benefit from.