A year after Zayn Malik left mega-boy band One Direction, he has dropped his first solo album.
Unsurprisingly, it has gone straight to No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.
Malik, who stirred some news within the last year with talk of his solo work, released “Mind of Mine” on March 23 to anxious fans after releasing two singles, “Pillow Talk” and “Like I Would.”
The album is, for lack of a better description, really good from start to finish.
It paves the way for Malik to have a successful solo career and it will be hard to keep thinking of him as “the boy who quit One Direction.”
A moody and extremely textured R&B album, it showcases the hard work and the inspiration that went into this piece of work.
Malik tries desperately to prove his adulthood, dropping f-bombs and steamy lyrics about his love life.
The album has a little of everything — a heavy synth song titled “She,” a soft-funk guitar layered track “Bordersz,” and even a song paying tribute to his Islamic faith called “Flower,” with a vocal melody in Urdu. The inspirations are easy to spot.
One of the best tracks on the album is “Fool For You,” a stripped-down piano ballad with complex vocal runs. It is nice hearing Malik use his full vocal potential, something he did not truly get to do with One Direction.
Although it is one of the most detailed albums of the year, the album will wear you down with all of its fine-tuned lyrics and music.
Still, it is hard not to admire Malik’s commitment to his new identity as a solo artist.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.