(Erskine/Columbia)
Back in 2017, Harry Styles’s self-titled debut solo album attempted to rebrand his image from teen heart-throb to 1970s rock star, although many would argue he still leans heavily towards the former. With the release of his follow-up Fine Line, his idols – Bowie,
Queen, Pink Floyd – are less to the fore as Styles begins to find his own niche.
He still sings the blues on breakup ballad Cherry, and gives us a taste of old school rock’n’roll on the jolly Canyon Moon and Treat People With Kindness. But the album’s most endearing moments are when he experiments. Sunflower, Vol 6 – perhaps the result of one of the magic mushroom trips he told Rolling Stone about – sounds like it was bathed in southern
California sunshine. “Let me inside, I wanna get to know you,” he coos over a breezy ska rhythm.