Well, folks, it’s here. Harry Styles’s debut solo album arrived today (May 12), giving us 10 richly produced, classic rock–indebted tracks. For One Direction fans, this is a chance to see someone they’ve grown up with grow into himself. And, it’s a chance to look back at 1D and see how far Styles has come.
Inspired by that growth, we’ve assembled a guide to which Harry Styles tracks will be your new favorites, based on the One Direction songs you already love. Think of it as your 1D-inspired guide to Solo Styles. And for brand new Styles fans, take this as your chance to discover some One Direction classics you may have missed. Happy listening!
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If you like “What a Feeling,” you’ll love “Meet Me in the Hallway.”
Opener “Meet Me in the Hallway” is all about lack of communication: a common theme on this album. “What a Feeling” (perhaps otherwise known as “One Direction’s Fleetwood Mac song”) similarly recounts the air running out of a relationship, and captures that same feeling of desperately wanting clarity. Both dreamy in their own way.
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If you like “Story of My Life,” you’ll love “Sign of the Times.”
This is a tough one, because the Bowie-esque apocalyptic overture “Sign of the Times” is way more ambitious than anything One Direction’s done. The closest is probably “Story of My Life,” one of 1D’s biggest hits, that has similarly soaring vocals and a chorus that almost rivals the drama of “Sign of the Times.”
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If you like “Olivia,” you’ll love “Carolina.”
“Carolina” is a bluesy stomper with a catchy “la la la” hook, and “Olivia” is a whimsical ode to a girl with light in her eyes. The former is more Beck and the latter is more Beatles, but they’re both ultra-playful jams about being irreversibly smitten.
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If you like “Fireproof,” you’ll love “Two Ghosts.”
Styles is a shell of his former self on “Two Ghosts,” the song that may or may not be about Taylor Swift. He and his 1D comrades were similarly broken (though ultimately more hopeful) on “Fireproof,” which was so mellow it was almost scary. Ghostlike, you might even say.
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If you like “If I Could Fly,” you’ll love “Sweet Creature.”
Sonically, “Sweet Creature” sounds more like sweet 1D ditties “I Wanna Write You a Song” and “Little Things.” But with needy lyrics like “When I run out of road, you bring me home,” “Sweet Creature” resembles a less dramatic but equally sentimental cousin of “If I Could Fly.”
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If you like “Girl Almighty,” you’ll love “Only Angel.”
It’d be easy to choose 1D’s “Hey Angel” for this one, but “Only Angel” has way more rock raunch, with Styles wailing about a wild girl worth worshipping. That’s what makes it a way more fitting companion for “Girl Almighty”: the bubbly Four track that made more than a few eyebrows raise with its “I get down on my knees for you” promise.
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If you like “No Control,” you’ll love “Kiwi.”
One Direction fans have a complicated relationship with “No Control,” the beloved Four jam that inspired a massive campaign to make it a single. “Kiwi” feels similarly destined to be a fan favorite, with its tongue-in-cheek lyrics and immediate catchiness. Like “No Control,” it’s a certified jam (but will it be a single?!).
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If you like “Walking in the Wind,” you’ll love “Ever Since New York.”
“Ever Since New York” sounds more like “Night Changes” and feels more like “Half a Heart,” but its wistfulness and folkiness recall “Walking in the Wind.” Both tracks are nostalgic, cautiously optimistic, and carry that same underlying current of disconnect. That makes them similar enough, despite “Walking in the Wind” being something you’d shout along to, and “Ever Since New York” being something that might soundtrack a good cry.
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If you like “Stockholm Syndrome,” you’ll love “Woman.”
Styles plays the jealous lover on “Woman,” just as he did on “Stockholm Syndrome.” He’s entirely bent out of shape on both; he growls on the former, “I hope you can see the shape I’m in while he’s touching your skin,” and laments on the latter, “Baby look what you’ve done to me, baby you got me tied down.” E-e-evil woman!
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And “From the Dining Table”? It stands on its own.
Sorry, but I’m declaring it impossible to compare “From the Dining Table” to any One Direction song. It’s vulnerable, it’s unexpected, and it demands to be left alone.
