After an almost three year hiatus, Harry Styles made his comeback at Love on Tour, his global concert tour following the 2019 release of his second studio album, “Fine Line.” Tour tickets aren’t the only things fans have to worry about paying for, however, since Styles announced the release of his third studio album, “Harry’s House,” due to come out May 20.
Although fans have to wait a little over a month for the new album—unless they’ve heard any of the songs that leaked on Twitter recently—, Styles released his newest single “As It Was” on March 31.
“As It Was” sounds nothing like the Harry Styles we know. With this record, he moves away from the pop/rockstar persona of his first two albums, exploring a new genre. On my first listen, I thought I had accidentally played Spotify’s generic indie music playlist due to its upbeat, unfamiliar tone. Although it isn’t a typical ‘Harry Styles’ song, it is still incredibly catchy.
On its first few listens, the tune seems a happy one, but it speaks of darker themes, hinting at his current relationships and parents’ divorce. The sheer speed of his singing in the bridge was an exciting contrast to the melancholy lyrics.
At only two minutes and 47 seconds, ‘As It Was’ does get a bit old. Maybe it’s because I was hoping Styles would lean more into the rock genre, but the song itself sounds like any other song on the radio after it’s played enough times. It doesn’t necessarily have a wow factor and has the potential to be another once-good-but-now-overplayed song on the radio. However, this didn’t take away from my enjoyment. The beat, lyrics and the fact that Styles wrote it make it more than enjoyable. It’s my current go-to for finals studying, especially as a hype-up song.
If you’re feeling a bit unmotivated as the semester ends, try listening and dancing to Styles’ single. If it doesn’t motivate you to get work done, at least it’ll get you up and moving.
