491. Harry Styles, "Fine Line"

 


First we have to grapple with the idea of an album that came out in December 2019 found its way onto this 2020 list.  I mean, maybe it’s really good, maybe it’s not, but won’t it take some time to sit with it, reflect on it, think about it, before deciding it’s one of the Best 500 albums ever made?

It’s probably not.  Look, I like meaningless bubblegum pop just as much as the next guy, and this is certainly well-executed pop, but it just left me feeling nothing.  I guess some of the songs are kinda catchy and I’m sure there are legions of people who love this album with all their hearts but for me there’s just no core here, nothing to believe in. 

I do think it’s interesting how Harry genre-hops with fierce abandon, going from shimmery silver boy-pop to plinky acoustic faux-English-folk.  I appreciate that, but it still seems sort of forced and scripted.

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