Harry Styles’ sophomore album “Fine Line” dropped on December 13 and my final review is in — it’s perfect. That’s it. That’s the review.

If you were to twist my arm to force me to talk about Styles more, I’d say that ‘Golden’ sets the tone for the 12-song triumph with a 70’s vibe. The sound is bright and layered in with lyrics that are sadder than they should be like “I know you were way too bright for me.”

That’s the dance that the album does — sadness and happiness weaving back and forth within each other. It truly is a ‘Fine Line’ that the music and words tread.

From ‘Golden,’ Styles stacks the first three songs that fans had heard as singles or live performances before the album dropped: Watermelon Sugar, Adore You and Lights Up. Getting these familiar, radio friendly songs out of the way opens the audience up for a new experience for the rest of the release’s duration.

‘Cherry’ and ‘Falling’ find Styles at his most vulnerable. 

‘Cherry’ is a simple melody full of heart break over a sweet dulcimer showcasing Styles’ jealous side. The song ends with the French songlike speaking of Styles’ ex-girlfriend (model Camille Rowe) adding a very not subtle reminder that this album is definitely a break-up album at its core.

‘Falling’ follows ‘Cherry’ to get the saddest songs out of the way. ‘Falling’ is a delicate piano driven ballad that rivals Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Someone You Loved’ as the saddest song of 2019. It’s beautiful, it will bring a tear to your eye and it’s an open piece of loneliness after being the cause of your relationship’s demise.

Another highlight on the album is ‘She,’ a six-minute slow groove that has a guitar solo that is begging for a Grammy nomination. Guitarist Mitch Rowland is a gem that songwriter stumbled upon after another studio guitarist didn’t show and Rowland happened to be able to skip a shift at a pizza place. Styles should never let him go. While he was an integral part of Style’s first full length, his handprint is all over the guitars on this album and ‘She’ is where he shines.

In a few promotional interviews, Styles has not hidden that he experimented with psychedelics during the making of ‘Fine Line.’ It’s not until track 11 that a listener might think “Oh, there it is.” Something about ‘Treat People With Kindness’ reminds me of a song that you might put up against ‘The Age of Aquarius’ or closer yet, The Edgar Winter Group’s ‘Free Ride.’ Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear this song on a playlist with the soundtrack of ‘Dazed and Confused.’

The capstone of the album is its namesake. ‘Fine Line’ comes in quiet, delicate and reserved. A falsetto that we don’t typically hear from the deep voiced former-boy bander lifts above a song you can feel building in your bones. Snares kick in around the four minute mark but the song dives into full-blown Sigur Ros or Sufjan Stevens orchestrations 30 seconds later. With brass and drums fit for a marching band juxtaposed to the soaring chorus of “we’ll be all right,” the album ends on a perfect high.

If Harry Styles was worried about a sophomore slump, it doesn’t show. He took sonic risks in a very commercial music climate, was open about relationships through his lyrics where he typically stays incredibly private and grew exponentially as an artist without diverting too far from his first release to the point of no recognition. ‘Fine Line’ is a masterpiece and it’s a shame we didn’t have it sooner for it to be included in 2019 album of the year lists.