Harry Styles is only 23 years old. That’s right, 23. With the massive success of plastic pop monkeys One Direction (Styles was one of the fresh-faced, all-dancing, all-singing puppets, in case you weren’t aware), it feels as if the boy from Cheshire must have been thrust into the limelight as a well-coiffeured embryo. This self-titled solo debut is the next step in the freshly shorn singer’s evolution, his first stab at artistic maturity. And just like every single member of every single mega-successful boy band who has gone it alone, the album screams: “As much as you loved me before, this is who I really am.” But does Styles really know who he is at such a tender age? On the evidence of Harry Styles he’s, unsurprisingly, a lad who is still finding his feet. It starts off strong, the acoustic dreaminess of Meet Me in the Hallway and the tender six-minute Sign of the Times showcasing the singer’s strong voice without falling into cliché. After that, it becomes just a pick ’n’ mix karaoke selection of love songs influenced by the Rolling Stones and Elton John.
