Harry Styles Drops ‘Sign of the Times’ Video

Harry Styles, released the Beatles-esque ballad “Sweet Creature” earlier this month, managed to summon his inner-drone in the new video for “Sign of the Times,” which dropped today (May 8). Styles’ debut single, a David Bowie-style rock ballad, chronicles the difficulty of trying to stifle emotion during particularly tough times, and the clip’s treatment is conversely liberated: the montage finds Styles flying high through the sky, walking on water and sailing toward the horizon at sunset.

“Just stop your crying, it’ll be alright / They told me that the end is near / We gotta get away from here,” Styles croons across picturesque imagery and watercolor landscapes.

In April, Styles told BBC’s Radio One that he wrote the song while in solitude, and that he creatively benefited from drowning out the day’s usual voices.

“It’s the song I’m most proud of writing, I think,” Styles said. “I wrote most of the album in Jamaica, I was in Jamaica for two months. I just wanted to not be distracted… I really liked being away from everything.”

Styles’ debut solo album will drop May 12.