Mirroring the process of working through your personal situations, ‘As It Was’ goes on a journey – musically, lyrically and visually. As the boards start to pull apart and they lose their grip on each other, another canvas appears beneath them – one waiting for its lines to be filled in with the colour of a fresh start. Moments earlier in the visuals, which were directed by Ukranian director Tanu Muino, Styles and a partner lie on boards daubed in blue, pink, red and black, their hands intertwined. In the video, this is the moment where the singer launches into giddy theatre kid-style dancing around London’s Barbican, the previously pensive, pained expressions on his face replaced by a broad, relief-filled grin. “ You know it’s not the same as it was,” he sings repeatedly as the track wraps up but, while previous iterations of the line might have felt desolate, now they’re washed with hints of possibility and optimism. Yet, as the track reaches a crescendo filled with bright tubular bells, a subtle euphoria creeps in. It’s bittersweet – Styles shutting down attempts to process those old times with bouts of melancholy (“ I don’t wanna talk about the way that it was”). The British pop star’s first piece of new music since his 2019 album ‘Fine Line’, the ‘80s synth-pop single depicts running from the past and battling with change.
The title of Harry Styles’ new album – ‘Harry’s House’, to be released May 20 – suggests retreating to his own digs could play a part of the record’s concept, while ‘As It Was’, our first taste of it, offers up both contemplation and a shunning of self-examination. A sanctuary filled with souvenirs of life outside its four walls a residential museum to memories. It’s a place that – as we’ve seen over the last couple of years – encourages you to do your deepest reflections.
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