Consumer Guide Album

Harry Styles: Harry Styles [Columbia, 2017]
Coming off his long boy-band run, Styles not only made sure his solo debut was rock and roll, he didn't shy away from sex or drugs either--for instance "Only Angel," where "she's a devil in between the sheets," or the opening "Meet Me in the Hallway," where his goal isn't companionship but morphine. That said, these are songs with content, songs with stories to tell or metaphors to drop and also songs with pulse and definition. He'll get better, and quite famous for it too. But from the start he's on his own way. A−