Styles may become rock’s savior
From the early days of One Direction, the charismatic Harry Styles stood out as the member most likely to succeed — the group’s Justin Timberlake or Beyoncé, if you will.
And with his self-titled debut album out Friday, Styles becomes a star in his own right, by not trying to be a pop star at all.
With One Direction on hiatus (if not done forever), various members have been chasing pop trends.
Zayn Malik, who actually left the group in 2015, recast himself as a bedroom pop artist. Niall Horan went the sensitive, Ed Sheeran singersongwriter route, while Liam Payne reportedly has recruited Sheeran to write him a single.
Styles, meanwhile, mostly wants to rock.
And perhaps you’ve heard that rock is dead; the biggest new rock band in recent years, Twenty One Pilots, doesn’t even use a guitar.
So it’s pretty brazen for Styles to go this route, even if it’s not a total surprise, given the rock elements that emerged on One Direction’s latter albums (perhaps to appeal to the fans’ Bon Jovi-digging parents).
But beyond the risk in going rock, Styles’ first solo single is the five-minute “Sign of the Times,” a kaleidoscopic slow-burner that recalls Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie.
So, no, it’s not radiofriendly in the slightest, but it’s still a scorcher, showcasing a passion and power in Styles’ voice that even his brightest moments in One Direction couldn’t have suggested.
Most of the songs on the 10-track “Styles” are inspired by classic rock, sometimes too blatantly.
“Carolina” has a lazy, cool shuffle stolen from Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You” (a.k.a. the “Reservoir Dogs” torture song).
“Only Angel” casts aside a celestial intro for Keith Richards-style guitar spikes and Mick Jagger-esque vamping. “Woman” bounces on a hazy piano cadence reminiscent of Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets.”
But Styles is clearly having fun with the formula and relishes hogging the spotlight, while the relationship-driven lyrics illustrate a natural maturity.
The album does include one radio-friendly, Sheeran like song in the heart-fluttering, acoustic “Sweet Creature.”
But in drawing his sound from an unlikely source, and making classic rock cool again, this one-time boy band poster boy could trigger a rock resurgence.