“Harry’s House” and “Mr. Morale,” analyzing today’s music
The musical spectrum has shifted and evolved ever since cavemen could hit rocks together. The music of 2022 is a product of centuries of creative influence: constantly changing and constantly refining to something new. Today’s range of sounds, rhythm, and lyricism is more diverse than ever before. To assess the musical climate of today, we can analyze and compare two of this year’s albums on opposite ends of the spectrum, “Harry’s House” by Harry Styles, and “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” by Kendrick Lamar.
“Harry’s House” is a pop-influenced 42-minute album that combines aspects of synth, funk, and pop rock to create a new age amalgam.
The album deals with infatuation, love, and how maturing in life complicates these subjects. These topics, although focused, don’t follow any storyline. They’re more so a series of one-off stories relating to one another through common themes. This format can create a scattered feel that sounds more like a collection of singles than a thought-out project. From the start of the album, the beats and lyrics are funky, energizing, and often involved in young love. Styles’ sentiments can be summed up in the second track “Late Night Talking”: he sings, “I’ve never been a fan of change, but I’d follow you to any place,” as well as pop’s most repeated phrase, “can’t get you off my mind.” As the album progresses and matures, so do the topics. “Little Freak,” the sixth track, has some of the most beautiful lyrics in the album, including “starry haze, crystal ball, somehow, you’ve become some paranoia, a wet dream just dangling, but your gift is wasted on me.”
It is a great disappointment that this narration is accompanied by boring vocals, mundane build-ups, and the basic structure of every radio-pop song from 2015. Ultimately, this album has some unequivocally catchy songs and some much-needed depth later in the album, but it lacks the intersection of the two. The catchy radio hits lack depth while the more complex songs lack enjoyability.
“Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” is a 78-minute album comprised of 19 songs. This new-age rap project experiments with piano, violin, and other classical instruments incorporated into beats, challenging the norm of hip-hop today. The belting of a church choir and rhythmic clicking of tap dancers are often highlighted in the intro of songs, with the voice of a therapist sometimes speaking to Lamar.
This project is highly confessional and nothing if not honest—while speaking of racism, toxic masculinity, homophobia, family, and personal growth. In the fifth track, “Father Time”, Lamar speaks of the hard relationship he had with his father and what he was taught a man should be: “looking for ‘I love you,’ rarely empathizing for my relief.” Lamar uses his poetic prowess to describe the state that his childhood left him in: “your heart is made of stone, and your mind is made of gold, and your tongue is made of sword, but it may weaken your soul.” Lamar’s lyricism throughout the album is punchy and meaningful in everything he discusses.
These two albums have completely different tones and overall sounds but relate to each other in terms of theme and structure. They also encapsulate two major genres of the musical spectrum today, and were well received by their intended audiences. The music of 2022 is diverse and exciting especially due to the fact that experimentalism, primarily in hip-hop, is beginning to be praised in the mainstream.
“Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” Rating: 4/5
This album has complexity and nuance. It is recommended for anyone who doesn’t mind some productive swearing.
“Harry’s House” Rating: 3/5
Although it contains some hits, the project as a whole felt played out and imprecise. I wouldn’t recommend listening to this album all the way through, but I would recommend adding “Music for a Sushi Restaurant”, “Late Night Talking”, and “As It Was” to your pop playlist.