By Nicole Chedraoui
Calling all Harries! It’s our time to unite! Harry Styles’ highly-anticipated second solo studio album Fine Line is out and has us feeling all of the feels. Harry takes us through the highs and lows of his love life in the past few years, and it’s fair to say this is the most vulnerable he’s ever appeared to his audience. This album showcases who solo artist Harry Styles really is, and it’s one of the most beautiful transformations to see Harry going from an average boy band member to someone who is uniquely and fearfully himself. All in all, it’s a rollercoaster of emotions– so let’s dive into some of the best songs on this album.
Harry started off with a banger! “Golden” is the first track on Fine Line, and with the first beat drop, this song was all of the vibes I need. Harry describes the tone best when he said in an interview with Zane Lowe, “I used to drive from here to the studio and listen to it. “Golden” was like the perfect Pacific Coast Highway song. It’s like driving down the coast, it feels so Malibu to me. The energy of this song starts out high when Harry talks about the golden parts of his last relationship. The energy is impeccable, and you can almost feel the sparks radiating off the two in the relationship. Harry compares the girl to his sun who shines brightly over his life. Despite the upbeat tone of the song, the lyrics to the chorus are genuinely sad, as he tries to express his feeling of reluctance to go into a relationship, and he fears being alone if things go wrong. Favorite Lyrics: [ “I’m out of my head, and I know that you’re scared because hearts get broken.”]
“Adore You”– more like adore this song! This song only continues to prove that Harry Styles is boyfriend material. This song is about Harry admiring a certain girl (could be the same girl from “Golden,” but we can’t be sure) and how she radiates unique energy, something special and colorful. He then continues to say that she doesn’t have to call him hers or be in a committed relationship or love him for that matter if that’s what his love interest needs and wants. Harry asks one thing of this girl. Let him adore her, and admire her from afar, without expectations, assumptions, or pressure on the two of them. Harry says he would do anything for the girl and promises to always take care of her. Not only are the lyrics cute, but the song has the most feel-good beat. It sounds like a song that would be playing by the pool or the ocean on a hot summer day, while you lay out in this scorching sun with a cool drink in your hand dripping with condensation. Favorite Lyrics: [“I’d walk through fire for you, Just let me adore you.”]
This song truly represents how much Harry has stepped out of his old boy bandshell and became the true unique version of himself. To get the full impact of this song watch his music video–11/10 recommend. Harry starts out this touching song apologizing to a past girlfriend about how the choices he made put space between them, saying that he won’t go back to the way things were before. While he says it would be sweet if things stayed the same, he believes it’s time for him to change fundamentally as a person. In the chorus, he feels that the contents of his heart are dark, and when the lights go up on stage, the world will see who he is or who they think he is. He speaks out to others saying that they should figure out who they are before people try to tell them who they should be. Favorite Lyrics: [“Lights up and they know who you are, Know who you are Do you know who you are?”]
Oh, Cherry! Why did you break our boy’s heart? This song is basically Harry brooding over his lost lover, which, fans believe is his ex-girlfriend, Camille Rowe. In this song, Harry expresses his sorrow towards his two-year relationship with Camille, he expresses how much he misses her, even though she has already moved on to another man. There is a strong presence of jealousy in the lyrics. Harry never actually states a desire of getting her back; he just recites the loss he feels without this figure in his life. The song ends with an alleged, real voicemail left by Camille. In the voicemail, she is speaking something beautiful in French, but the song makes it sound almost eery. Favorite Lyric:[ “Don’t you call him baby, we’re not talking lately, don’t you call him what you used to call me.”]
When I first heard this song, it brought real tears to my eyes. It’s one of the most melancholy songs I have ever heard. This is the type of song you listen to while sobbing into a carton of ice cream or laying fully clothed in a bathtub crying– it’s that sad. It’s speculated that this song was written after his breakup with Camille, which, clearly, he didn’t want to actually happen. As stated in the song, the breakup had something to do with “the drink in his wandering hands,” as well as speculated cheating. Harry uses the term “falling” to describe his mental state descending into something dark and depressing. He states that he’s someone that not even he wants around. He fears being alone forever, and that his ex will “never need him again.” He can’t come to grips with the reality that, without her, he’s falling. Favorite Lyrics: [“What am I now? What am I now? What if I’m someone I don’t want around? I’m falling again, I’m falling again, I’m falling.”]
This is BY FAR my favorite song on the album because it’s very much out of Harry’s comfort zone. First of all, the entire song is written in third person, so it’s very artistically unique for him and the subject of the song is not Harry, but rather a certain man who daydreams of a certain “she.” The bridge of this song suggests that this girl doesn’t exist, but only lives in the narrator’s imagination. My theory, along with a lot of the public, is that the “she” Harry is referring to is his more “feminine” persona. The lyrics speak to how he feels repressed by society and their gender standards, when perhaps on the inside Harry “daydreams,” about a side of him that can express himself in gender-fluid ways. “She” was his way of expressing that he wants to do and dress in a way that makes him happy, not what makes other people happy. On top of the incredible message, this is a song that you can scream-sing in the car with your friends, the beat is very groovy. Favorite Lyrics: [“She (She), she lives in daydreams with me (She), She’s the first one that I see, and I don’t know why, I don’t know who she is (She, she)”]
Of course, I had to finish off my list of favorites with the song that also shares the title of the album, and that is “Fine Line.” This song is supposed to act as the “epic finale,” of the entire album. It’s Harry’s last message to his fans, and one of his most meaningful and personal songs. While his previous songs have been about his past relationships and their ups and downs, “Fine Line” speaks to a much broader term of life, that being the fine line between both love and hate. Harry eludes to the fact that he is stuck in a relationship he doesn’t want. He dives into the facts of fame and materialistic people, who put a “price tag” on relationships. Harry continues to stand by this relationship, although sometimes he genuinely hates her. He said in an interview that this relationship has brought him the happiest time of his whole life, and the lowest points of his life. He tries to distinguish the fine line between love and hate, both being powerful emotions. This song has a very dramatic tone, it sounds like it’s coming from a place of hurt like he’s singing about traumatic past experiences. Favorite Lyrics: [“You’ve got my devotion, But man, I can hate you sometimes”]
The weeks of waiting and anticipation of this album were definitely worth it, given the incredible outcome. This is my favorite solo album of Harry’s yet. I hope I got you in the fangirling mood, and if you are looking for new music, stream Fine Line now for some top-notch tunes!
The Heritage Herald 