Zayn Icarus Falls

It’s a shame if Zayn Malik actually believes Nobody Is Listening, because they should be. Since departing One Direction in 2015, the comparatively low-profile British Pakistani singer has steadily delivered high-concept pop albums that take risks, bare emotions and defy expectations. Mind of Mine transformed fluorescent, Frank Ocean-inspired R&B into a hazy after-hours head trip, and the heavily loaded Icarus Falls made intimate love songs into mythic voyages. Here, on his third solo LP, he finally realises his full potential as a shape-shifting pop auteur, dialling the production way up and fine-tuning his falsetto so that it melts into every bar.