“As It Was” by Harry Styles, Thursday, June 2, 2022
Harry's House, the third full length record from Harry Styles, was one of the most anticipated records of the year, and it dropped late last month. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Styles talked about how the writing process for his third record was a continuation from his writing process for Fine Line. Styles' former record had been a surprising take on psychedelic pop akin to the '60s and '70s, and listeners and critics wondered what he would offer on his third record. It turns out that, so far, Harry's House holds a high Meta-critic rating than either his self-titled debut or Fine Line with a score of 83%.
LEAVE AMERICA, TWO KIDS FOLLOW HER. The similarity between Fine Line and Harry's House, though, can't be pointed out from the lead single, "As It Was," alone, though. Many critics have pointed out the similarity between "As It Was" and A-Ha's "Take On Me"; often with the argument that Styles' "As It Was" is inferior to the 1985 hit. While I'd agree that if we had to choose one synth-pop classic, "Take On Me" would win; however, I think that's more of a valid pre-album comparison. While Harry's House does have its fair share of synthesizers scattered throughout the record, "As It Was" is a bit of an outsider compared to the rest of the album tracks which feature prominent acoustic or electric guitars. "As It Was" is the album's clearest homage to the '80s, with most of the songs sticking in the sweet spot of '60s and '70s folk/disco influence. Furthermore, "As It Was" is a bit of an anti-"Take On Me." Styles' sad-boy post-punk melody and bittersweet lyrics on "As It Was" contrasts with the exuberant "Take On Me." With "As It Was," Styles picks an emotionally complex track to lead an emotionally complex album. While some of us were at home reading up on zymurgy since we were too scared to go to the liquor store, Styles was at home writing a new record. Many of the lyrical themes on Harry's House deal with fractured relationships, death, and the pandemic, and how the pandemic made fractured relationships and death even more devastating. Today's song is a reminder that the world is a different place from 2019, and it will never go back to "As It Was."
IN THIS WORLD, IT'S JUST US. But I didn't get this song at first. When I watched the Zane Lowe interview a few days before the album dropped, I started to respect what Styles was doing. Harry hints at dealing with a break up, the loss of a loved one--perhaps his step-father who died during the writing process of Fine Line--and being locked down in America, Japan, and the UK. But it was something much more personal that made this song connect. I've talked about being a bad music critic in that I don't always listen to the new albums as soon as they drop; however, I did happen to listen to Harry's House on Friday afternoon on the way to meet my friend and co-worker of six years and his wife. Having been very close for years, I finally decided to come out to them. It's part of my journey toward honesty with meaningful friendships, rather than suffering the burden of keeping my life sub-rosa. Everything went well, but as I took the bus home and listened to the album, I thought about all those moments in life that you can't take back. I can't go back into the closet to the people I know. Then I think about the people who I still need to have that conversation with. Once we have that conversation, things will never be the same, for better or worse.
Check out my updated 2022+ playlist!
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