Zayn - Mind of Mine

Zayn
Mind of Mine
2016
Spotify

It was bound to happen, the eventual breakup of One Direction, and it finally has. Zayn Malik, was always the bad boy of the group, sleeved up and often on the outs with many of the other memebers of the band his leaving was all but written. What you would expected then is something more gritty, more in line with his image from this new record Mind of Mine, however that is not what you get. Besides a couple "F" bombs and a little bit of colorful language this record is far away from receiving a Parental Guidance sticker. Much of the album is composed of sweet love songs and a few club bangers. Essentially Zayn did what every former boy band member does, save one (Justin Timberlake will always be another level), He toys with sensual R&B with the likes of Miguel and The Weeknd but never goes the full way to their super explicit super raw style. It is a watered down version of those artists, but one much more palpable for the mainstream. "She" his shot at a more up tempo song, and one that shows him really stretching his range, is where he is really successful. The song feels right and feels like it is a style that Zayn should be singing in, He is able to force a weaker hook into something special when he really sings it out.

There definitely seems to be a very strong desire to be artistically accepted on this record from the stylized song names to the the interludes. There is this pushing full force of the idea that you should appreciate Zayn, and consider this album important just because of his history. It is when the reins are loosened a bit, and there seems to be less control coming from the powers that be when Zayn makes music that really connects. "Rear View" feels earnest and real, but a single like "Pillowtalk" is pure pandering. The album on the major streaming sites is also only available in the deluxe version, 18 tracks, which is way to long. By about the third track you get what is going on here and porbably could move on, but you have another album and a half to go. For this day and age where the single is king having an album of 18 tracks, very few of which are true singles, just seems silly. "Truth" in particular is so full of overblown earnestness that after listening you feel dirty, and not in a good way. As a debut Mind of Mine is not terrible especially considering what could have come out as the first One Direction spawn. There are little moments of brilliance, but that comes with a whole lot of throwing quite a bit at the wall to see what sticks. This may be a rough first start for Zayn Malik's solo career or it could be the one that began it all, only time will tell.

6.0 out of 10