When Zayn Malik stumbled up on the X-Factor stage in 2010, bleary-eyed and sleepy, he, like the rest of the world, had no idea what level of fame and success he would gain as one-fifth of One Direction. After nearly five years as part of the world’s most popular boy band, he announced on March 25, 2015 that he would be leaving the group. Exactly one year later, the now solo artist released his debut album “Mind of Mine.”
The hype surrounding “Mind of Mine” was seemingly chaotic and grew with singles such as “PILLOWTALK,” a sultry song with explicit lyrics that would never be found in a One Direction tune. The rebrand surrounding Malik is stunning; he is the cool guy, the one that rides motorcycles and smokes cigarettes, the new R&B artist that makes sexy pieces of art.
“Mind of Mine” reflects this rebrand and represents more of Malik’s actual musical style than did his time in One Direction. As excited as the world appeared to be for this album, it’s a bit anticlimactic—“Mind of Mine” is in no way a bad album, but with 18 tracks on the deluxe version, some parts seem to fall short of others.
A few songs are gorgeous, sizzling, downbeat numbers and some seem to just exceed boring. You won’t really find any Bieber-esque bangers here (with the exception of “Like I Would”), but you will discover beautiful tracks such as “BoRdErSz,” a slow hitting-tune that showcases Malik’s penchant for tracks with a burning intensity hiding underneath. “BeFour” and “dRuNk,” two other stand-out songs, follow the same suit as “BoRdErSz”—it’s clear that Malik succeeds with The Weeknd-style music.
The most alluring track on “Mind of Mine,” however, comes with “INTERMISSION: fLoWer.” A song that only lasts one minute and 44 seconds may not seem like it could hold much substance, but when Malik sings in his father’s native tongue, Urdu, it seems like one of the most powerful moments in recent pop history. Malik is notably one of America’s only Muslim pop stars, and has faced much irrational and hateful commentary regarding this. Singing in Urdu is obviously important to Malik, and for his Muslim and Pakistani fans—in addition to this vital step in music, “INTERMISSION: fLoWer” is exquisitely sung.
Other songs miss the mark on “Mind of Mine.” “fOoL fOr YoU” seems especially out of place on the record, and “lUcOzAde” fails to catch any interest. The record would be much, much better if four to five songs were cut, allowing songs like “sHe” to breathe and garner the attention they deserve. However, for a debut album in a completely different genre than what he previously performed with, Malik doesn’t disappoint. He still has room to explore further into R&B and hip-hop, and “Mind of Mine” is quite promising, despite its flaws.
So should you buy “Mind of Mine?” Absolutely. Should you expect it to be the best album of 2016? Absolutely not.
