Harry Styles Bold New Sound Gets Four-Star Reviews

has been hailed 'brave' and 'free of self consciousness' in early reviews ahead of the release of his fourth studio album, Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally.

The singer's record will be available to fans on Friday (March 6), and the first response to the album suggests they won't be disappointed by Harry's fresh sound.

Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally - KISSCO to his fans - has received a swathe of four star reviews, where he has been lauded his choice to put out 'music that actually sounds like him', according to a critique in the Independent.

Harry's return as the king of pop features hints of disco and rock, with nods to LCD Sound System, Prince-style funk and The Durutti Column throughout.

The track list is as follows; Aperture, American Girls, Ready, Steady, Go!, Are You Listening Yet?, Taste Back, The Waiting Game, Season 2 ;

Coming Up Roses, Pop, Dance No More, Paint by Numbers and Carla's Song.

It has been described as his 'most playful, bold and experimental to date', as he offers a vulnerable approach to exploring his feelings around 'relationships, adulthood, the loss of innocence.'

The critic notes that it felt in his last record - Harry's house - he was maybe trying too hard, there is a new curiosity that was 'perhaps lacking before'. 

The Independent review concludes: 'By stepping away for a minute, allowing any fears of getting left behind to cease, 

'Styles has been able to return with newfound clarity and, more importantly, music that actually sounds like him. He let the light in, and it shows.'

The Times also gave the album four stars, and the critic particularly enjoyed the fact that it sounded like a 'bunch of people making music together and enjoying it'.

They said Harry sings with 'lightness rather than passion' and is someone who leans into following the lead of legends before him such as Jagger and Bowie. 

Referencing to his song Coming Up Roses - which was debuted at a Fred Again gig last week - they said: "Just for tonight, let's go hangover chasing. And I'll talk your ear off about why it's safe!, which must be the dream of 2026: getting drunk with Harry Styles in a safe space. 

'That's the appeal of this musically deep, lyrically shallow, curiously laid-back album: hanging out with pop's Mr Easy.'

While the Times discussed the 'lightness' in Harry's voice, Rolling Stone have insisted that he has actually delivered 'the biggest sound' of his career in their four-star review.

The music magazine branded the album 'the perfect summer soundtrack', which pays a 'clear tribute to dance music's trailblazers, but also provides a bold new step in his solo superstardom.'

While still giving the album three stars, The Telegraph, have said that the album 'hints at big ideas and emotional depths without actually having either'.

However, they have accepted the fact that either way it will 'conquer the world'. 

They said: 'It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. is going to conquer the world – and it will be one of the oddest pop records to do so. 

'In this respect, Styles has his finger on the pulse of contemporary listeners in our turbulent times, feeding an appetite for edgeless escapism, music that hints at big ideas and emotional depths without actually having either.'

Meanwhile, The Guardian said it is 'devoid of unequivocal pop bangers' such as As It Was or Watermelon Sugar, and feels like 'music made in the small hours, with the curtains drawn against the dawn'.

However, according to the critic it is a 'risk that intermittently pays off', and 'feels like an album, rather than a collection of tracks'.

This review also praises the idea that the album was made to please the Pleasing founder, rather than appease his fanbase. 

It said: 'And in an era when some pop stars seem desperate to cling on to their place at the top by any means necessary – from doing down rivals in song to boosting their chart placings by drip-feeding diehard fans with umpteen limited editions – there's something oddly laudable about an album that doesn't seem desperate to be loved, even if the results are occasionally a little too opaque for their own good. 

'And, of course, its flaws are besides the point, at least commercially. The expectation that Styles's fans would travel to see him turned out to be entirely correct: 11.5 million people applied for tickets to his 30 New York shows. If you know whatever you do next is almost guaranteed to be huge – if you are, unequivocally, a very big deal indeed – why not please yourself?'

Harry himself spoke about the importance of making music that you enjoy yourself in a recent interview on Brittany Broski's Royal Court.

The musician, who appeared wearing elf-ears and a cape on the playful show, was discussing Rosalia's new album, LUX.

In a now poignant comment, Harry noted that the record was 'so obviously for her'.

Saying: 'I think it’s great. So brilliant.What is really inspiring to see when you see something like Lux is it’s so obviously for her. It’s so obviously to fulfil something that we get to watch.'

The BBC, who gave no rating for the album, said that although Harry is touching on a new era, he 'isn't stupid enough to alienate his fanbase entirely'.

They said: 'The slow acceleration of lead single Aperture emphasises Styles' message that enduring love is worth waiting for.

'American Girls possesses a cheeky swagger that'll sound immense at his record-breaking Wembley Stadium residency this summer.

'And the delightfully barmy Dance No More bounds along on an irresistible groove as the singer leads a chant of 'respect your mother'.

His new album will debut at the Co-op Live arena on Friday night to a group of lucky fans who secured £20 tickets in a lottery.

His first live concert in three years will make its way to  this Sunday after he revealed he will record his One Night Only show in Manchester.

This marks the first time any of Harry's shows have been released on a streaming platform since his former band split in 2015.

In celebration of the release of his album - which also drops on March 6 - Harry will play all 12 tracks from the album from start to finish.

This includes his single Aperture, which he first performed at the  on Saturday evening, which was also hosted at the same venue.

Harry's show in Manchester is the first of a run of shows across seven countries which he will tour in support of the new album.

He has planned multi-day residencies on his Together Together tour across the globe and will perform 50 shows in total.