Album: Fine Line
Artist: Harry Styles
Release Date: December 13, 2019
Genre: Pop Rock
Length: 0:46:37
Label: Columbia/Erskine Records
Producer: Jeff Bhasker/Kid Harpoon/Tyler Johnson/Greg Kurstin/Sammy Witte
Rolling Stone Top 500 (2012): N/A
Rolling Stone Top 500 (2020): #491
Styles-istically a masterpiece of a record...
The sophomore album by former boy-band idol, Harry Styles, Fine Line charted at #1 on the US Billboard Top 200, certified platinum and is nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award in the Best Pop Vocal Album category.
The album opens with a consistent driving force on the ride cymbal and synth sounds on the track "Golden", before erupting into the cheerful backup vocal melody. Styles comes in and provides a sense of comfort and gives the sense that he can control the song with his presence. The instruments, vocals and effects are all used to provide backing to Styles himself, and this track makes that obvious.
Arguably the strongest song on the record, the second track "Watermelon Sugar" is a robust pop-rock anthem that utilizes the strength of Styles' voice to take the track to places it wouldn't have been able to without him. The build-up of the instruments in the beginning from a slight guitar part with muffled drums to the festival of sound with the horn jabs, bass groove and dance-inducing drum part after the bridge, fills the listener's entire headspace with Styles.
"Adore You" is another one of the strongest tracks on the album, with a more soulful sound than the other tracks, this song gives a sort of Prince sound that showcases Styles' ability to transition from one sound to the next without sounding gimmicky. While vastly different than the other songs prior to it, "Lights Up" is a groovy yet chill percussive track with the choir-like sound of Styles and the background vocalists. The effect on Styles' voice before the chorus brings out a sense of comfortability before being reassured by the choir comes in to announce the chorus of the track.
Adopting a more folk-rock sound, "Cherry" is a song written about Styles' feelings during his breakup with Camille Rowe in 2018. This song is simpler than the other tracks on the album and mainly utilizes only an acoustic guitar and Styles' seductive voice. There is a section around halfway through that introduces ominous synth sounds and eventually uses a piano and drums to bring power and strength to the laid back sound.
In an interview with Zane Lowe, Styles described the sixth track "Falling" as "I had started to feel myself becoming someone I didn’t want to be, and that was really hard". One of the first songs on the album you hear Styles truly sing to his fullest potential, the emotion that is poured out from this track is flawlessly combined with the dreary sound of the piano and drone like bass across the track. Slight orchestral strings continue to add to the tear-jerking emotion exuding from Styles' voice.
After a personal emotive track like "Falling", the album needed a natural transition to a more upbeat track such as "To Be So Lonely". The beginning of the track focuses more on an island vibe with guitars and percussion parts, but incorporates orchestral strings and even some eastern instruments like the sarangi.
As proven to the listener, Styles is seamlessly able to execute any style of song; anything from a pop-dance anthem in "Watermelon Sugar", an emotional balled in "Falling", a lengthy psychedelia jam in "She", 1970s songs like "Canyon Moon", the cheery sing-along sound of "Treat People With Kindness", all the way until the last track of the album named "Fine Line". This last song is a repetitive, building track that has unique instrumental parts to keep it fresh and Styles is able to create a masterpiece out of seemingly nothing.
Aside from the beauty in producing an album that you can hear every detail, add effects on different parts without sounding too cheesy, and perfectly arranging the record to play in the most effective way possible, the stylistically flawless instruments playing and the differences in tone across each track, the greatest part of Fine Line is Styles himself. The presence he brings in his daily life shines through across every aspect of this album, making it one of the greatest records in 2010s and was a fantastic way to open up the 2020 decade. Styles has already cemented himself as one of the most talented pop artists and will only continue to grow, which makes his career an exciting one to follow.
I cannot recommend listening to this album to anyone enough. While his roots are with a boy-band, Styles' current artistry is one that is not something to gloss over. The progression Styles has had musically from his One Direction days is impressive and exciting to see how he continues to cement himself as a leader in the pop genre...
Favorite Songs: "Watermelon Sugar", "Adore You", "Falling"
Least Favorite Songs: Nothing
Production Quality:
Mix = 10/10 (Flawless mix)
Innovation = 10/10 (Pop album with exciting aspects and surprising features throughout)
Songwriting Quality:
Arrangement = 10/10
Lyricism = 10/10 (Amazing lyrics that can be interpreted how you want)
Instrumentation Quality:
Vocal Timbre = 9/10 (Amazing voice but sometimes too many effects on the voice)
Instrumental Timbre = 10/10
Group Chemistry = 10/10
Overall Likability:
My Personal Rating = 9/10
Overall Rating: 9.7/10
Any confusion on how the rating is weighted/calculated, please look at my "About" page.
Remember this is all my opinion! Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any comments!