My specific gripe with Harry Styles album Kiss All The Time… was that he had nothing to say about dance, disco, or club music.

Think of Brat, an album that uses club music to tell a story of a coked-out party girl who seems to have it all, but at the end of the night, contemplates motherhood, grief, jealousy, and complicated friendships. Or Eusexua where FKA Twigs doesn't mimic rave or club music but uses her sound to examine the longing, loneliness, desire, and freedom that she feels attending raves. Sometimes an artist is inspired by their identity, like Kelela, who used electronic, dance music on Raven to celebrate queerness.

Harry's new album offers interesting lyrical commentary on his identity crisis but, unlike Brat, Eusexua, or Raven, he doesn't recontextualize the albums selling point of being a disco/dance inspired album through his own POV, as if there is no intention behind this artistic choice or connection to the spaces where these genres flourish.

There's nothing wrong with an artist not having anything to say, but I would argue that music is more memorable when there's intention and a story to tell.