So if you know me at all, you know that I love Harry Styles. As a former self-described One Direction fangirl (I’m woman enough to admit it!), I’m living for all of their solo music. However, Harry will always have a special place in my heart. His first self-titled album was incredible, and I knew that Fine Line would be no different. Again, like my last review, I know that I am not a music blogger by any means. BUT, I just had to talk about this album and my experience at the NYC pop-up shop!
Overall Thoughts & Favorite Songs
Since this album is two tracks longer than his last, I didn’t want to subject you all to a comprehensive, track-by-track review. (Even though I could talk about the album forever!) Overall, however, I think it’s an incredibly solid album. Harry said in one of his interviews that he wants to make sure his albums are solid all the way through, since that’s how he listens to music, and I think he really hit the nail on the head. Fine Line is able to navigate different moods and slightly different sounds all while sounding comprehensive. It’s not an easy task, but he pulled it off!
More than anything, this album is so honest. From the lyrics to the melodies, listening to the album feels a little bit like reading someone’s diary. I really appreciate how true to himself Fine Line is, and it’s kind of cool as a fan to kind of be given part of him after all of those years of listening to songs like Up All Night. (if you know, you know.)
I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like Harry’s finally hit his stride, and it’s incredible to watch.
Favorite Songs
So disclaimer, I really did love the whole album. The below songs are just the three I find myself playing over and over again right now! Some runners up to the ones mentioned below are: Golden, Sunflower, Vol. 6, and Falling.
Adore You
Adore You is so pure and wholesome, and reminiscent of those moments immediately after you find out your crush likes you back. It definitely pulls more pop than a few of the other songs on the album which is why it makes sense it was a single, and I think it’s my favorite of the three singles he put out. Everything about this song is so happy, and the guitar riff in the chorus just makes you want to dance. Add a delightfully weird music video, and you have the ultimate feel-good song.
Cherry
This song is definitely my favorite of the whole album. The main draw of Cherry for me is the honesty. Harry said he wrote it when he was feeling a little pathetic about his breakup, and you can feel the sadness and unease oozing out of his performance. The simple guitar throughout the song really pulls together the whole vibe of sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself, but the song still manages to rise and fall with the inclusion of different instruments. (The FLUTE right before the bridge? The STRINGS?) It’s chock full of emotion and I am here for it.
Canyon Moon
I’m a sucker for an upbeat acoustic guitar, and this song definitely delivers on that. It feels very much like a traveler’s song – you can almost picture the song playing over a movie montage of a road trip. Canyon Moon calls to the nostalgia of a memory from home and being slightly homesick, and captures that feeling very well. This one is going to be so fun to listen to live!
Fine Line Pop-Up Shop!
To celebrate his new album, Harry put up pop-up shops in New York, LA, and London. I am lucky enough to live close enough to New York City to be able to travel in for things like this! I met up with one of my good friends Sabrina, and we waited in line for about 45 minutes – 1 hour before going in.
The shop itself had the posters given in the vinyl package up on the walls, as well as large marquee-type posters saying signature phrases from the album: “Do You Know Who You Are?” and “Treat People With Kindness”. You could also purchase some merch – I of course walked away with a vinyl for my record player and a new mug.
I was nervous about the whole thing being overwhelming, with a lot of people pushing and shoving, but it was really such a great experience! We made conversation with some girls in line with us, and the energy in the room was just so wholesome and joyful. We were all singing and dancing along to the album, taking pictures of each other and hyping each other up. I genuinely had so much fun, and it’s really a testament to not only the way Harry & his management run his events, but also to the kind of people that listen to his music!
Final Thoughts
If you learn nothing else from this post, I hope you now know that I am still and always will be a huge Harry Styles fan. It’s been so great as a fan getting to watch his growth over the last decade (omg), and I can’t wait to see where his music takes him next!
What’s your favorite song on the album? Were you also a One Direction fan back in the day?
