Maps of Music

Harry's House (2022)

Where the lyrics of Harry's House take you, and where it was really made.

The title comes from a 1970s Haruomi Hosono album, but Styles describes the 'house' in it as a metaphor for the inside of his mind rather than a physical place.

Key places

Recorded at Real World Studios (2022)

Recording site Real World Studios — Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire is listed among the recording locations for this album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The first song written for the sessions (2022)

Recording site Shangri-La — Shangri-La studios in Malibu is where the first song for the album sessions, Late Night Talking, was written. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Angelic in London (2022)

Recording site Angelic (London) — Angelic in London is listed among the recording locations for this album, shown at the city centre level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Henson Recording Studios (2022)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood is listed among the recording locations for this album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Harry's House: third studio album by English singer-songwriter Harry Styles
• Released 20 May 2022 by Erskine and Columbia Records
• Largely written and recorded during 2020 and 2021
• Noted as Styles' most introspective work
• Synth-pop, new wave, pop rock and pop-funk album with elements of R&B

Background

• Album named after Haruomi Hosono, whose 1970s album 'Hosono's House [sic]' Styles heard while in Japan
• Musically inspired by Japan's 1970s-80s city pop genre
• 'House' treated as a metaphor for the inside of his mind rather than a geographical location
• Styles also drew on a road trip through Italy in his deceased stepfather's car, listening to old jazz CDs
• First song written for the sessions: 'Late Night Talking', written the day the band and producers arrived at Shangri-La studios in Malibu
• 'Music For A Sushi Restaurant' was written early and was once considered the album title
• 'Boyfriends' was initially written during the final week of Fine Line recording

Recording

• Recording locations listed: Real World Studios in Box, Angelic in London, Shangri-La in Malibu, and Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood
• John Mayer plays lead guitar on 'Cinema' and 'Daydreaming'
• 'Daydreaming' contains a sample from 'Ain't We Funkin' Now' as performed by the Brothers Johnson
• 'Daydreaming' started from a voice note Tyler Johnson sent Styles while driving from Palm Springs to LA

Cover

• Artwork unveiled together with the title and release date announcement on 23 March 2022
• Photography by Hanna Moon; creative director Molly Hawkins; styling by Harry Lambert

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Harry Edward Styles, born 1 February 1994 in Redditch, England, grew up in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire.
• Auditioned for The X Factor in 2010 as a solo contestant; eliminated, then placed in a boy band formed with four other contestants.
• That group, One Direction, was mentored by Simon Cowell and suggested the name 'One Direction' by Styles.

Members

• Original members: Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik.

Career

• One Direction signed with Syco Records in 2011 and became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time before an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
• Solo debut album 'Harry Styles' (2017) was led by the UK number-one single 'Sign of the Times'.
• Second album 'Fine Line' (2019) topped the US charts; 'Watermelon Sugar' reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
• Third album 'Harry's House' (2022) won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
• Fourth album 'Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.' (2026) featured the global number-one singles 'Aperture' and 'American Girls'.
• Acting roles include Dunkirk (2017), Eternals (2021), Don't Worry Darling (2022) and My Policeman (2022).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Harry's House was met with critical acclaim for its production
• Veteran critic Robert Christgau applauded the album's musical fluidity
• Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that the album ticks many right boxes and has abundant charm
• Petridis said this made the album a perfect reflection of the pop star who made it
• Emma Swann of DIY felt Styles is not scared of being secondary to the song
• Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic stated the album has solid bones and is sturdy enough to last

Reappraisal

• Metacritic average of 83 from 26 professional reviews, indicating universal acclaim
• Styles' highest rated album on Metacritic
• Numerous critics and publications placed it in their 2022 year-end best-album rankings, often in the top ten
• Included in Rolling Stone's 2023 'The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time' list
• Won Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 65th Grammy Awards
• British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards 2023

Records

• UK Albums Chart debut at number one with 113,000 album-equivalent units, the fastest-selling album of 2022 in the UK
• Styles' second UK number-one album
• US Billboard 200 debut at number one with 521,500 units, including 330,000 pure sales
• Styles' third US number-one album and his biggest debut in the country
• Second-largest opening week for an album in the US in 2022, behind Taylor Swift's Midnights
• Set a modern-era record for single-week vinyl album sales in the US, with 182,000 copies
• Debuted at number one in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland
• Ranked as the second most streamed album on Spotify in 2022

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Styles said that while in a Los Angeles sushi restaurant a song from the last album played, which led him to suggest 'Music For A Sushi Restaurant' as an album title
• 'Matilda' is named after the lead character of the Roald Dahl book of the same name
• Audio in the teaser trailer was revealed to be a backwards version of the closing track 'Love of My Life'
• Joni Mitchell tweeted that she loved the title; her 1975 album The Hissing of Summer Lawns has a track called 'Harry's House / Centerpiece'
• The album was reportedly leaked on Twitter in full one month before release, and Sony publicly condemned the leak in a tweet that was later deleted

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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