Harry Styles returned after a four year break with his fourth studio album, “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally,” a 12-track ‘80s-inspired journey. Unlike his previous albums, this album – affectionately known as “Kissco” among fans – toys with disco-inspired beats and dense basslines intended to get your heart thumping in a way Styles hasn’t done in previous albums.

“For those who helped me make this. For those who inspire me to make anything. For those who helped me to know when to say NO, when to say YES. For all my friends to dance to,” Styles wrote in the album dedication.

Between every Berghain-esque beat and reference to artists from LCD Soundsystem and Depeche Mode to Prince and Simon & Garfunkel is something distinctly Harry, tucked between the lines for “Harries” to find.

In Styles’ debut album, “Harry Styles” (or “Self Titled,” according to Harries) he was cautiously drawing inspiration from his muses to curate an album that set him apart from the boyband persona he had played for the previous six years. With each album, Styles began telling not only his stories, but telling the stories of and for Harries. As he progressed into a more authentic version of himself, both in his life and sonically, he always feigned immense respect for his dedicated fanbase.

“Even saying, like, ‘Oh, I love this band’ to the point where I’m, like, emotionally invested in this band, is a scary thing to do,” Styles said in a recent interview with Brittany Broski. “I think a lot of the time their opinion can be kind of cast aside as like, oh, it’s like hysteria and they don’t really get it or something. I think their taste can be questioned based on the fact that they wear their heart on their sleeve. I think the truth is they’re the most honest.”

Harry Styles is as much a brand as it is a person in 2026, selling out 30 nights at New York City’s Madison Square Garden arena with a record breaking 11.5 million presale registrations. Every aspect of “Kissco” is authentic, but much of the vulnerability is hidden behind a screen of synths and bass in the album’s tracks. Those ballads, nestled between dance hits like “Dance No More” and “Pop,” are all the more meaningful as raw love letters to his fans, who he reveres for their vulnerability.

“The Waiting Game” is the sixth track on “Kissco,” beginning with a sweet synth and light guitar melody. The song details an internal battle, fearing emotional vulnerability and openness. “Playing the waiting game / And it all adds up to nothing.” The song evokes a sort of Sylvia Plath Fig Tree struggle, toying with the fear of attachment or vulnerability and how it stands in the way of achievements. In this story, playing the waiting game means you don’t reap the rewards.

The eighth track on “Kissco” is “Coming Up Roses,” a vulnerable ballad that is delicately “Harry.” Lyrically, the songwriting is reminiscent of Styles’ 2017 “Meet Me in the Hallway,” or “From the Dining Table,” with a new, fresh arrangement. The lyrics depict the melancholy in loving and experiencing a relationship, knowing it won’t last and bracing for consequences but letting it go for the moment. “Just for tonight, let’s go hangover chasing / And I’ll talk your ear off about why it’s safe / As I fumble my words and fall flat on my face through the truth.” The lyrics play with this theme of impulsive decisions and consequences thereafter, almost like an angel and devil in Styles’ ear as he is in a relationship that he knows won’t be long-term.

The 11th song on the album is “Paint By Numbers,” a bittersweet song detailing the pitfalls of fame, public perception and expectations. The lyrics tell a story of a person desperately trying to fit expectations, following the rules perfectly and then watching plans derail. “It’s a lifetime of learning to paint by numbers / And watching the colours run.” Whether based on his time in One Direction or past romantic relationships, it’s a tale about letting go of expectations, being okay when things don’t go as planned and finding the beauty in the blurred lines.

From delicate ballads to punchy floor-fillers, “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally,” is a love letter of growth, change and the feeling of anonymity you get on the dance floor, just another person experiencing the music. Whether you’re a brand-new fan or in it for the long-haul, the beauty of Styles’ music is that it’s for everyone: though Harries see the loving messages written between the lines.