After One Direction took a hiatus in January 2016, member Harry Styles released his first single “Sign of the Times” on April 7. Features Editor Maria Harrison shares her opinion on the new song.

For someone who has never identified as a “Directioner” nor particularly enjoyed One Direction’s music, “Sign of the Times” was a breath of fresh air from the usual overblown music of One Direction (no hate from Directioners). This song demonstrated Styles’ struggle between sticking to typical pop music and that of One Direction and creating his own voice through his music.

Although Styles strayed from pop by creating a smooth sound in “Sign of the Times,” his lyrics were repetitive as he sung the chorus about four times throughout the song or one-third of the song’s duration which is typically seen in pop music.

Styles voice works well with the background music as it neither dominates nor is dominated by the instruments playing alongside his singing. This differs from some pop music which lets the beat dominate the song.

Different from some of One Direction’s biggest and most popular hits, the sound of “Sign of the Times” is more emotional and dramatic. It’s a perfect song to add to your playlist titled “slow down” or “powerful songs to sing along to.”

“Sign of the Times” will be featured on Styles’ debut album, which is scheduled to be released on May 12. The album titled “Harry Styles” will have ten singles and no feature artists.

If this song is demonstrative of Styles’ future solo career, then listeners including myself should look forward to his first album and more solos from Styles.

– Maria Harrison – Features Editor –