by Ally Gagne '26 on February 5, 2026

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A&E - Music

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Fact number one about me: I consume a lot of music, and anybody who knows me knows this. I am an avid listener to almost all genres, I have an expansive Spotify library of 131 playlists, and I keep my finger on the pulse of  good new releases. I love a niche artist, but stereotypically, of course, I love Harry Styles. On Jan. 20 of this year, Styles announced that he would be releasing the lead single “Aperture” for his upcoming album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. With it having been almost four years since the release of his third solo album, Harry’s House (2022), naturally, I was over the moon to hear about the fourth, and soon after, Styles’s new single.

Two days later, the single dropped and, like millions of other fans, I pressed play right after 7 p.m. I listened carefully, phone held to my ear, trying to decipher my thoughts. After my first listen, I looked at my roommates and  said, “I really like it, but I just don’t think that this should be the lead single.” Obviously, I hadn’t heard the other songs on the album, as they haven’t been released yet. I listened to “Aperture” and although I liked the song, I didn’t feel like it was wowing enough to be a lead single. I was expecting a classic Styles lead single, like “As It Was” (2022) or “Lights Up,” (2019) and for some reason, I didn’t see “Aperture” as a worthy comparison. All of Styles’ other lead singles have had such a unique feel and stood out to me so much, and I wasn’t feeling that same effect from this one. It felt like a total outlier, until I listened to it again.

I began to think about it more and more, realizing that the beauty of all of Styles’ albums has been in the differences between them. Each one of his albums has a different sound and feel, like each is its own complete set, or its own art project. “Aperture” is no different from the other singles in objective quality; it is just fundamentally different from the other lead singles Styles has released on his other albums. I explained to my roommates that when I think of a Styles single, I think of something that not just his fans will appreciate, but something that could easily end up on the radio and have even my parents singing along. I loved “Aperture” at first listen, but didn’t see it as being able to appeal to a wider audience beyond Styles’ fans who have a deeper appreciation for his discography.

I listened to it again and again, and each time I gained more of an understanding of the artistry behind the song. The lyrics aren’t complicated; they get directly to the point. Aperture, the setting on a camera that “lets the light in,” is cleverly related to Styles’ muse, who he equates with letting the light into his life. The layering of sounds and beats in the background gives the song a specific energy that is hard to achieve in a piece of musical artwork. This is what made me realize what the song is meant to do: it is meant to allow its listeners to feel rather than just to hear. Styles is doing something truly special with his use of sound, transporting his listeners to where he is when he is with this person and helping them go to their own special places in their minds. Good music should be able to transport us like this, to a place outside of our physical bodies, and give us these new experiences.

Styles is one of the few artists that I feel can pull off what many try to achieve: a consistently evolving body of work that consistently maintains the same level of artistic quality. I feel even Taylor Swift, who built a massive fan base surrounding her “eras,” has sold herself out, forcing herself to create new albums for money rather than for the sake of artistic expression. Her constant changing of genres no longer works, and her new music feels rushed, incohesive, and careless. Styles, on the other hand, has been able to create three solid albums with an upcoming fourth that can both stand strong alone, as well as create a cohesive catalogue of his artistic expression when put together.Part of the beauty of  “Aperture” is Styles’s ability to create a song that people will talk about. This single feels more experimental than his others, making his evolution from a One Direction boy band pop star to the artist he is now even more impressive. As a longtime fan of his work, seeing this change and this expression is a powerful reminder of the artist that he is and the depth of his body of work. While I didn’t think that “Aperture” was a good lead single when I gave it my first listen, I’ve changed my mind, and I believe that Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally will be yet another massive Styles hit.

by Abigail Levasseur '24 on September 18, 2022
A&E Staff

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A&E - Music

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A Review of Beyoncé‘s Latest Effort

Singer, songwriter, producer, and pop icon Beyoncé released her new album, Renaissance, on July 29, 2022. The album is Beyoncé’s seventh studio album as a solo recording artist. Before going solo, she co-wrote five studio albums with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams—the trio made up the famous girl group Destiny’s Child. Some of Destiny’s Child’s most popular songs include “Bills, Bills, Bills,” “Survivor,” and “Say My Name.” The group was most popular in the 90s and early 2000s before disbanding in 2006 after 16 years together. After another 16 years as a solo artist, it is safe to say that Beyoncé is still topping musical charts. On August 13th, Beyoncé’s Renaissance hit number one on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart, becoming the first album released by a female artist to reach number one in 2022. 

The last album recorded by a female artist to hit number one was Adele’s 30 in December 2021. This seven-month stretch was particularly unusual and marks the longest female drought for Billboard’s Top 200 in over five years. Beyoncé hasn’t produced a full musical album in six years, her last being Lemonade in 2016. The long wait makes Renaissance all the more exciting. But Beyoncé hasn’t exactly been living in the shadows. She produced a documentary film titled Black is King, voiced “Nala” in Disney’s live-action movie The Lion King, and helped produce Homecoming, a concert movie documenting her “Beychella” set, which was largely inspired by Black American Performance. 

Amplifying Black music and culture was also a driving force in the production of Renaissance.  The album pays homage to Beyoncé’s late Uncle Johnny, whom she calls her “godmother.” According to Beyoncé, her Uncle Johnny was the first person who exposed her to “the music and the culture” that inspired her seventh album. Uncle Johnny passed away from HIV-related health complications when Beyoncé was only seventeen years old, but apparently, the two were inseparable during her childhood. Uncle Johnny’s influence has helped draw a direct connection between Beyoncé and the Black queer community. Beyoncé calls her new album a “safe place, a place without judgment…a place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking.” The album is largely a celebration of safe spaces, inclusive of clubs, churches, and venues made for Black women and queer people. This celebration is all the more important after Covid-19 shut down these lively, cultural venues. The album title references the Renaissance period (1300-1600), which marked a “revival of art and literature.” While the album is titled “renaissance,” it symbolizes Bey’s “rebirth.” 

The term is very characteristic of Beyoncé’s album, which celebrates the rebirth of culture and music after the pandemic forced clubs to close their doors and concert venues to transform into medical sites. But despite the modern twist, Beyoncé still carries some history into her album cover, which mimics the famous Anglo-Saxon painting of Godiva. So, if you’re surfing through Spotify, and if you wish to listen to Renaissance, just look for Queen Bey posing on a holographic horse.