Anyone with a traumatic childhood will surely gravitate to “Matilda,” a vulnerable highlight from Harry Styles’ new record. He has a thin relationship to the song’s protagonist, yet offers up empathy about how home and family are defined on one’s own terms. “You can throw a party full of everyone you know, and not invite your family ’cause they never showed you love,” he sings with a strawberry tang. Piano and few other instruments echo around him, almost as comforting vines and branches. “You don’t have to be sorry for doing it on your own,” he encourages. It’s a song that, given today’s socio-political climate, feels more profound than it previously might.
Listen to “Matilda” below.