REVIEW #1: 90/100

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The year of 2021 has a lot of catching up to do to 2020, one of the best years in (CAL) music. And, as of January, it starts off with a very strong comeback, one that has been anticipated for more than four years: Harry Styles. Following messy management changes, label switching and stuff, the artist's highly anticipated third studio album has been a mystery and a drag to wait for. The record changed sounds, lead singles and promotional tactics like socks. From the controversial "Moonlight", to the underwhelming "Heatwave", to the drastic change that came with "Nirvana", Styles has been struggling. However, on "Late Night Revelations", he proves that all this wait was worth it.

 

Written and produced by a small group of producers and writers, the album is an intimate yet accessible dive into house music, a genre that has been gaining more and more traction as of last year. Touching on various cheeky subjects that are sometimes polar opposites (orgies, loneliness, falling in love), the record recreates the feeling of a wild night out, with its ups and downs. As we start with "Slow", the opener, the picture of a busy dimly lit club is painted as Styles brings out his most seductive tone, mesmerizing the listener. The lyrics are well structured and the surprise rap-like verse towards the end adds flavor and sets the tone for what's to come in the next 39 minutes.

 

Up next comes the lead single, "Lost In Your Eyes", a sensual club jam talking about meeting and falling in love with a total strange while on the dance floor. From the seducer, Styles turned into the one that's seduced as he does not believe the sight of the mesmerizing stranger. The song encapsulates the essence of the album and it is more than clear why it was the lead single. From the sleek, strong production to the catchy lyrics, "Eyes" keeps up the pace and makes the experience of "Everyday (I Feel So Alone)" even more enjoyable. Though the lyrics seem repetitive on paper, in the context of the album, they create one dreamy atmosphere in the midst of Styles' questioning of his own needs and desires. The subtle use of strings adds a certain disco flavor to the song, while keeping it in the musical landscape of 90s dance music, making it a total highlight.

 

"Days & Days" comes up next and what a change of pace. If before we were being treated with a couple of light beats, this one takes a darker route, sexier and a thousand times nastier. While still being mesmerized, the singer slides back (very smoothly) in the shoes of the seducer, from a dominant position. What makes this song the absolute best on the record are not only the lyrics, but also the way it blends in with the production, creating a living and breathing entity that exudes so much emotion. As it sometimes happens, a very strong song in the context of an album overshadows its successor. However, as "Days" transitions into "Next To Me", quite the opposite happens. Instead of taking the spotlight, "Days & Days" passes it very beautifully to "Next To Me", making the listening experience a very satisfying one. Though similar in tone, the two songs sound like the natural evolution of the album. The Disclosure produced "Next To Me" continues the (rather loose) narrative of the album and seems to be building up to something, making the atmosphere steamier and sexier. What elevates this song are its lyrics, carefully structured and written in order to make the production and the melody shine, which is no different from what's been heard on the album so far.

 

As "More Than Two" starts, we realize what the record's been building up until this point. As one of the best singles of this year so far, this song has everything one would want from an orgy-themed track. In contrast with the other songs, it works as a sexual release of the tension built through the other songs. The production allows every sound to breathe more and the chorus is nothing short of the embodiment of a sigh of relief. It must be mentioned its catchiness and the real earworm nature of the track, qualities that make this a perfect second single and one of the best Harry Styles songs out there. Thus making it very hard to follow up. While "Altar" does not have major faults, it suffers from being right after the album's climax. And, just like any moments following a climax, it requires the listener to take a break and that is what is given on the Stuart Price-produced track. However, as the bridge comes in, most probably one of the best on the whole album, the excitement is brought back, thus the ground being laid for "Alive".

 

With a minimalistic start, the album's second build up happens, except this time it is not spread out across the entire record, but on just one song. Slowly, we are brought back on the dance floor and, by the end of the song, we are dancing just like in the beginning, almost like a last hurrah before going home. The lyrics are this one's strongest suit, being catchy, witty and extremely catchy. However, the melody and the production aren't disappointing either, as they make the listener enjoy the last moments of the album through the retro beat and the subtle yet mesmerizing synths. When the title track and the closer start, the experience is earned. Following one last dance, we are being immersed into the dangerous moment of the sun rising, after the parties finish and the dance floors empty, when the music stops and the thoughts and problems that were ignored are coming back. Styles captures that perfectly on the song as it gives a final nod to the rest of the album through the production that uses elements heard in the album's lead, "Lost In Your Eyes". As the song fades out, it is clear that it served its purpose, giving closure and recreating that feeling of "time to go" felt after a party.

 

"Late Night Revelations" is a real experience. It shows how the comfort of the dance floor and the embrace of a stranger can change so much, even for just one night. Besides that, "Revelations" recreates almost perfectly the feelings of using partying as a distraction method, as the album is club-ready and exists in the space of a modern take on 90s house music. All in all, while not all songs are perfect and some of them fall flat in certain moments, those are far and in between. Harry Styles brings out his best tribute to dance music to accompany the need of being distracted from the outside world at the most perfect moment in time. "Who are they to say we gotta put the lights out", he sings on the title track, freeing himself and his music from the chains of expectations put on him four years ago. What a triumphant return.

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Standouts: "Slow", "Days & Days", "Next To Me", "More Than Two", "Alive"

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REVIEW #2: 90/100

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It almost seemed like it was never going to happen. 

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Harry Styles has announced and cancelled more singles and albums than he’s released and his legion of fans had just grown to accept that they weren’t going to hear the star’s third studio album. However, he finally put his foot down last year and delivered a lead single that eventually rose to become one of his biggest successes and it became clear that there was a new focus in the man that may see a full album come to pass. And that’s exactly what’s happened. Late Night Revelations has arrived and it’s unlike anything Styles has released before. Infusing dance pop and house music, he’s pushed himself beyond the normal confines of his well known sound to deliver something that is undeniably worth the four year wait. 

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The challenge Styles most faced with this project was that the musical landscape has changed dramatically since his last album. He jumps this hurdle early, proving that he’s already mastered the approach of modern music. The album genuinely sounds like he hasn’t missed a beat despite being gone for so long. To be such a drastic reinvention of his sound, it still feels incredibly authentic to who he’s been as an artist, but in a much more refined and mature way. He’s done a lot of growing up between his last album and this one and that’s reflected in the final product as it’s more focused and cohesive than anything he’s done throughout his career so far. 

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Lyrically the project is far and away the best project in Styles’ repertoire. In the past, his lyricsm was frequently criticized for being pompous and pretentious as well as incredibly impersonal, but this album exposes a side of Styles as a writer that we’ve never seen before. The album is bold and daring but it still feels honest to who he is. The approach to sex and euphoria is fearless with songs like “More Than Two” and “Slow” pulling no punches when it comes to sensuality. The album’s lyrical themes are perfectly summed up in the title track and closer “Late Night Revelations”. Styles sings “Tell me your secrets/Tell me your fears/Confide in me baby, I’m here”. This entire album carries with it that mission statement. Styles peels back the layers to tell us what’s on his mind, no matter what it is. He’s frank but not for the sake of shock or provocation, but because he’s giving himself to his audience in a way that they’ve been craving from the very beginning. 

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Sonically the album is just as adventurous, leaning heavily into dance and house music. It was an unexpected route for him to go compared to the things that preceded this era, but the shoe fits well. The primary producer on the record is Styles’ labelmate Frank Ocean, but the Grammy winner is also joined by Stuart Price, Ian Kirkpatrick, and Disclosure. This is a small pool of producers for such a big project but it does the album well. Frank’s vision for the sound of the album reaches out to all of the tracks, even those he’s not producing, and it gives the album a sense of consistency that’s been lacking in Styles’ career so far. The decision to have the album be a continuous loop of sound was a perfect stylistic move as it likens to the clubs that inspired the album. The sonic landscape isn’t as experimental as Frank’s recent studio album, but it’s still adventurous in the sense that there’s risks taken even if they’re not being taken constantly. The risks are sprinkled throughout the album, employed only when the album really needs that shot of adrenaline. 

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The album doesn’t have any clunkers on the tracklist which is all for the better considering the tracklist is on the leaner side. Not every song is a peak, but there’s no song on here that’s skip worthy. The weakest track on the album falls right in the middle, the track “Next to Me”. It’s a song that sort of blends into the landscape, not doing anything that really differentiates itself from the others (which is interesting considering it’s the only track helmed completely solo by Disclosure), but even if it is worthy of relistenes. The album’s peaks, like lead single “Lost in Your Eyes” and the longing “Everyday (I Feel So Alone)” each represent a specific strength of the album be it insanely good production, perfectly woven lyrics, or both. These songs alone make this album worth the wait that led to it and they’re backed by an ensemble of similarly wonderful supporting tracks. There’s no weak link here so the only way to judge the songs is against the criteria of which songs are perfect and which songs are slightly less perfect. 

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Late Night Revelations has been gestating longer than most albums that we’ve gotten recently, but the wait was worth it. This album is the sort of album that fans of Styles have been wanting from the beginning and it seems to be the kind of album Styles has wanted to make as well. His career to this point is best described as a series of growing pains, him trying to find something that works for him and trying on looks and styles that didn’t suit him. This is the moment of, no pun intended, revelation. This style is perfect and it allows him to flourish. His songwriting, Frank Ocean’s steady hand in guiding the production, and the decision to make this album feel perfectly at home in the clubs all combine together to make an album that is very singular and of itself. It’s unique and at a lean nine tracks, it never overstays its welcome. 

 

It’s good to see Styles again, and it’s especially good to see him as it seems we were always meant to. 

 

Standout Tracks: “Lost in Your Eyes”, “Everyday (I Feel So Alone)”, “Days & Days”, “Alive”

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