For some time, there’s been a sneaking suspicion that Harry Styles is a Bowie-esque rock star trying to claw his way out from inside the body of a grown-up teen idol. He’s certainly got the gender-mashing fashion sense, but with each of his solo albums, he’s also been slyly nudging his sound further and further away from the sheeny One Direction style of old.
And this, the 28-year-old’s third studio album, is the most unconventional collection of music he’s released so far. Relatively speaking, at least — he hasn’t totally abandoned the chart-topping ship and gone full Throbbing Gristle — but from the opening track, Music for A Sushi Restaurant, it’s clear that Styles isn’t one to spend all his time chasing pop trends. A blindingly bright romp, the song could have been taken straight from an Eighties J-Pop record, and even has a dash of jazz scatting chucked into the mix.
