More Than Just Disco Balls
Going beyond its disco-infused sound, Harry Styles’ latest album delivers a meticulously crafted cinematic and visual masterclass.
Words Rebelyn Beyong
Photos courtesy of Columbia Records (Sony Music Entertainment) and Harry Styles
March 28, 2026
“Aperture lets the light in.”
Pop spectacle and visual storytelling intimately collide in Harry Styles’ highly anticipated fourth studio album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. Released on March 6, 2026, via Erskine and Columbia Records under Sony Music Entertainment, the 12-track project represents much more than a simple sonic departure for the artist.
Produced by his frequent collaborators Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson, the album effortlessly marries 1970s funk with modern dance-punk influences, drawing heavily from the likes of LCD Soundsystem. However, its true brilliance lies in its meticulous visual execution, transforming a standard pop record into a masterclass in art direction.
Liminal architecture
The music video (MV) of lead single “Aperture,” directed by Aube Perrie, establishes the album’s unsettling yet undeniably captivating aesthetic. Filmed inside the expansive Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, “Aperture” utilizes the building’s overpowering, futuristic architecture to create a profound sense of isolation.
Rather than relying on traditional performance shots, Styles navigates an eerie, liminal space—waiting by the front desk, brushing his teeth, and roaming empty, concrete corridors. The setting itself becomes an essential character, mirroring the inherent claustrophobia of massive pop stardom.
The MV quickly devolves from quiet paranoia into a surreal, highly physical altercation. Stalked by a mysterious long-haired figure, Styles is violently tackled down a spiral staircase before the raw brawl morphs into a synchronized, mechanical dance routine.
The movement is sharp and aggressive, ultimately culminating in an unexpected, triumphant lift reminiscent of “Dirty Dancing.” This isn’t just clever choreography; it operates as a visual metaphor for his internal battles with fame, industry expectations, and the lingering ghosts of his past.
Styles’ distinct visual choices heavily reference iconic moments in cinema and music history. “Aperture” proudly pulls direct inspiration from Spike Jonze’s “Weapon of Choice” and David Bowie’s paranoid masterpiece “I’m Afraid of Americans”.
Sonic landscape woven with celluloid nods
Screengrab from the “American Girls” Music Video via YouTube
The cinematic tension seamlessly bleeds into the high-octane, meta-narrative visuals of the second single, “American Girls,” which contrasts the moody hotel backdrop with vivid, highly stylized, summer-coded frames.
Shot entirely on 35mm film to achieve a grainy, tactile texture, the music video for “American Girls” bathes the viewer in saturated neon pinks, electric blues, and golden-hour hues. Directed by James Mackel, the video serves as a stylized commentary on Hollywood spectacle. It frames Styles performing adrenaline-fueled stunts on a chaotic film set, sliding a classic car underneath a massive truck that subsequently explodes during a surreal wake scene.
He is also captured going on a joyride with his own stunt double, cleverly blurring the lines between the artist and his manufactured persona. The camera pulls back in a brilliant final twist to reveal Styles watching the entire sequence unfold from a director's chair, cementing the video's theme of controlled, artificial reality.
Bold minimalism
In an era dominated by overly complex digital art, the album cover for Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. sparked immediate internet discourse for its shockingly bold aesthetic. Eschewing traditional pop portraiture, the artwork leans heavily into textual minimalism, a deliberate stylistic choice that directly challenges industry norms. It is provocative in its sheer simplicity, leaving the visual interpretation entirely up to a generation of fans already trained to meticulously analyze every artistic detail.
Styles is not just releasing music; he is actively curating a multidimensional atmosphere. By seamlessly blending polished pop with avant-garde visual references, he pushes the established boundaries of what a mainstream pop era can look like.
Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally proves that Harry Styles is finally comfortable leaving behind the straightforward pop formulas of his past. He has successfully crafted a fully realized visual world, one that is strange, beautiful, and deeply artistic.
