Former One Direction star Harry Styles appears to sing about life in the public eye and "American girls" on his new album Kiss All The Time, Disco, Occasionally.
The album, which will be released on Friday, is the 32-year-old's fourth studio album, his first in four years, and features his latest single Aperture, which he performed at last week’s BRIT Awards ceremony in Manchester.
Styles says the record is for "all my friends to dance to", and sings "what a gift it is to be noticed, but it’s nothing to do with me" on Paint By Numbers.
The track later sees him sing: "It’s a little bit complicated when they put an image in your head and now you’re stuck with it.
"You’re the luckiest, oh the irony, holding the weight of the American children, whose hearts you break."
Styles, who is reportedly in a relationship with US actress Zoe Kravitz, the daughter of Are You Gonna Go My Way singer Lenny Kravitz, has a song called American Girls on the record, which sees him sing "all my friends are in love with American girls".
Produced by Kid Harpoon, the record sees Styles break new ground, presenting an electroclash sound which has clearly been inspired by LCD Soundsystem, Tame Impala and Charli XCX’s Brat.
On the reflective Coming Up Roses, the only track on the record that sounds as if it could have been recorded by One Direction, Styles sings: "Now I see your tears, on account of my wants and now it appears, that I’m feeling guilty and worried dear.
"That you think I might not want you here."
Touring struggles
Styles recently said he sometimes felt "existential" while touring and that he did not want his new album to feel like he was delivering a "sermon" but recreate what he feels on a dancefloor.
In an interview for Runner's World, Styles spoke to Japanese novelist and fellow marathon runner, Haruki Murakami.
He said: "Something I’ve often struggled with, in the middle of a tour, is feeling like I’m not sure what I’m giving, not sure what I’m adding to the world. Especially when the reward system and the kind of … adulation that you can receive feels so loud.
"Like clearly I’m getting so much from this, I’m getting all this energy. People are giving me so much, which I deeply appreciate. But what am I contributing? At times, I felt quite existential about that."
To cope with the noise, Styles found running to be his time to think and went on to run two marathons, one in Tokyo and later in Berlin, where he crossed the finish line in under three hours.
He said: "In some of those new experiences, there’s just so much stimulation.
"So many people, and it’s just so loud. So then running also became my processing place for all of that. Really being by myself."
He continued: "One of the things that can be complicated is that, as an artist, say if you’re a novelist or a musician or a filmmaker, you’re an observer, but when you become a known person, you become the observed.
"You know you’re still the same, but other people can begin to view you as something different. So something I love so much about running is the simplicity of it. You are the observer once more, and you can go about your day in the most naked form. It’s just you, alone, moving through the world.
"That’s what I love about it: You don’t need anything, just a pair of shoes."
He launched his solo career after One Direction went on hiatus in 2016, almost a year after Zayn Malik left the group.
He released his self-titled debut solo album in 2017, followed by Fine Line in 2019, and Harry’s House in 2022.
Source: Press Association
