When
One Direction
went on hiatus and its members went their separate ways to work on solo projects, the most anticipated of them was
Harry Styles
. His charming persona and elastic vocals had him positioned as the
Timberlake
of the group -- the one who might be able to stake his own claim in the pop landscape. With his self-titled debut album, he does a fine job of delivering a statement of independence while staying true to the
sound. Working with a small handpicked band and producer
Jeff Bhasker
,
Styles
crafted an album that ranges from intimate to epic, while always keeping the focus on his vocals and doing a little self-exploration in the lyrics. He and his team don't really stretch past what
One D
did musically; there are folky acoustic tunes ("Sweet Creature"), lush introspective ballads ("From the Dining Table"), nods to '80 hair metal ("Kiwi"), and silly pop songs ("Carolina") of the sort that could be found on any
album. The difference is that with just one guy singing all the songs,
sounds more focused and personal. And his voice is a thing of beauty, soaring on the big-screen ballads ("Sign of the Times"), reaching emotional depths on the hushed confessionals ("Meet Me in the Hallway"), and snapping with a
Jagger-esque
strut on the uptempo songs ("Only Angel"). The album really clicks when the arrangements and production combine into something interesting. "Sign of the Times" is the kind of sweeping, heart-stoppingly epic ballad
Robbie Williams
mastered; "Ever Since New York" borrows the guitar riff from
Badfinger
's "Baby Blue," builds a lush wall of
' vocal harmonies, and comes off like a well-crafted folk-rock update; and the glammy,
Elton John
-inspired "Woman" adds some welcome '70s-style weirdness to the proceedings, which is something the album could have used more of.
works exceedingly well as a modern pop album and an extension of the
sound and brand. ~ Tim Sendra