It’s been over year since we heard anything new from Harry Styles, but after taking a break from One Direction he’s been busy making new music. Now he’s back with a solo single, ‘Sign of the Times’.

One Direction were arguably the biggest boy band of the last decade, with millions of fans from all over the world after they rose to fame in the X-Factor. After almost seven years together the band took a break in January 2016 and have been releasing solo music one by one ever since.

The hotly anticipated single from the 23-year-old, Cheshire born singer was teased in a number of TV adverts, and heavily promoted on BBC Radio One. So after all the hype was it really worth it?

In short, yes.

Even if you’re not a fan of One Direction Harry’s ‘debut’ single is different, taking a step back from the teen pop you’re used to hear him sing. There’s something old-school about Sign of the Times which makes the single stand out from any of the records released by other members of One Direction.

The five and half-minute track is in itself long, is it too long? Maybe as it’s quite repetitive, but if you’re a fan of his vocals then the more the merrier.

There is nothing drastically wrong with the single, although I will admit to being slightly disappointed the first time I heard it. Maybe it was because I had high expectations as it was being so heavily promoted, or maybe it was because it was different to anything he had sung before.

So why does the track grow on you so much?

After the initial shock of the high notes I began to appreciate his vocal range, and how from the start to the end of the track the story develops and so does his vocals. Even though the track falls under the ‘pop’ genre and becomes more catchy the more you listen to it, the track is a lot more mature and grown up which is refreshing.

It’s a track which seems to take inspiration from the likes of the late David Bowie, and at times emotive and quite dark, with lyrics including:

‘We never learn, we been here before, why are we always stuck and running from the bullets?’

With rumours circulating that Harry may miss out on the number one spot in the UK due to streaming errors, it is still an exciting time for music fans around the world. While the title of his album is unknown, if this track is anything to go by it will be an album full of surprises and stunning vocal arrangements.