Where his ex-cobbers have verged towards the safety of syrupy R&B and acoustic meanderings, Harry Styles heads down the highway towards Laurel Canyon and sun-drenched ’70s MOR, a risky choice, given his fans’ proclivity for spiky guitars and drum machines.
Yet for all its melancholy and indebtedness to its influences (a dollop of Elton John, a smattering of T.Rex), his debut solo LP oozes self-confidence.
There’s a spring in the step of Kiwi, Carolina is adroit folk, and hypnotic single Sign of The Times reveals a Nilsson-esque flair for arrangement.
• Harry Styles. Harry Styles. Columbia.
• Three and a half stars (out of five)
Single download: Sign of The Times
For those who like: Laurel Canyon folk, Elton John, T.Rex, Scott Walker
— John Hayden
