Arriving just in time to supremely fuck up everyone’s best-of-2019 music lists is Harry Styles‘s sad and sexy Fine Line.
On Friday (December 13), the fruit fanatic released the follow-up to his 2017 eponymous debut album. In true Harry style, it’s a feature-free, retro-rock collection of a dozen tracks, including early singles “Lights Up,” “Watermelon Sugar,” and “Adore You.” Back in August, Styles memorably described Fine Line as being “all about having sex and feeling sad,” and now that the album is finally here, we have to say… he was absolutely spot-on! Below, we break down all 12 songs and decide whether they fall into the “sex” or “sad” categories (or both).
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“Golden” – Feeling Sad
The punchy indie-pop opener definitely doesn’t sound sad. But amid those warm, definitively Californian vibes is Styles’s repeated desire to not be alone, despite knowing that “hearts get broken” all the time.
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“Watermelon Sugar” – Having Sex
The debate swells on about whether this is, in fact, an ode to oral pleasure (uh, of course it is). In any case, hearing Styles sing “I just wanna taste it” as he dreams about a fructose-fueled summer fling is as sexy as it gets.
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“Adore You” – Having Sex
Don’t let the video’s fish-focused love story fool you — the blissful, poppy “Adore You” is still Styles dropping to his knees over that “strawberry lipstick state of mind.”
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“Lights Up” – Feeling Sad and Having Sex
Lyrics like, “All the lights couldn’t put out the dark / Runnin’ through my heart” suggest that “Lights Up” is sad as hell. But when paired with the accompanying visual — in which he dances shirtless in the middle of a throng of sweaty people — the case for “having sex” can certainly be made.
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“Cherry” – Feeling Sad
Styles is a boy who bruises easily, as told by this jangling tune in which he assumes the jealous ex-boyfriend mantle. “Cherry” even features a voice note from his ex Camille Rowe, which only turns the heartbreak up a notch.
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“Falling” – Feeling Sad
Feeling absolutely emotionally wrecked might be a better way of putting it. Styles comes to terms with being someone he doesn’t like on this vulnerable ballad, which hits a heartbreaking climax when he belts, “I get the feeling that you’ll never need me again!”
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“To Be So Lonely” – Feeling Sad
It’s right there in the title. Though Styles manages to sound content and unbothered, he’s still filled with a sense of self-loathing. “I’m just an arrogant son of a bitch who can’t admit when he’s sorry,” he confesses.
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“She” – Feeling Sad
This middle part of the album is just thoroughly unsexy; what can we say?! Here, though, Styles at least channels his dejection into a character, assuming the role of an older man who fantasizes about a mystery gal he can’t shake.
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“Sunflower, Vol. 6” – Having Sex
And we’re back to sex! This groovy tune is brimming with Beach Boys-style harmonies as Styles sings, “I couldn’t want you any more / Kiss in the kitchen like it’s a dance floor.” He suggestively continues, “Plant new seeds in the melody / let me inside, I wanna get to know you.” Hot stuff.
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“Canyon Moon” – Feeling Sad
Like “Golden,” this bittersweet charmer pairs a distinct Laurel Canyon sound with melancholy, homesick lyrics about being “gone too long from you.”
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“Treat People With Kindness” – Neither; It’s Just Happy
Here, Styles takes his widely told mantra and transforms it into a Queen-inspired, choir-assisted anthem about finding “a place to feel good” within one’s self. It’s definitely not sad, and it’s decidedly not about having sex (although his self-confidence sure is attractive). This one’s in a class of its own.
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“Fine Line” – Feeling Sad
The sprawling title track wraps things up on a moody note, as he sings about the push-pull of love and heartbreak. It’s undeniably sad, but at least it concludes on a hopeful note: “We’ll be all right.”
