If avoiding the release of his latest album didn’t at least suggest casual disdain for the machine of fame, name the next release No one is listening does.
Photo: zayn / YouTube
Zayn Malik was the first in the One Direction group to leave, no, as the boy-band tradition often says, because he planned to chart the path of Bobby Brown / Beyoncé / Justin Timberlake to success in a group of singers to megastardom as a solo artist but, to hear him say that in the 2015 Facebook post announcing his departure, to “relax and have some private time out of the spotlight”. His movements in the intervening years suggested that he was serious; he is as present on social media as he needs to be and apparently uninterested in the promotional theatricality that comes with the job of being a pop star. Leaving 1D was, in part, necessary due to a fight against anxiety, something Malik needed a break from the spotlight to shake. Zayn’s new and third solo album, No one is listening, who left today, arrived just a week in advance, without the usual trail of photo shoots, interviews and cross-branding exercises that endeavor to galvanize a base to buy something. The videos for “Better” and “Vibez” portray the singer resting in isolated places of comfort; the lyrics look like private conversations between lovers. It seems that the 28-year-old singer-songwriter is keeping himself as discreet as possible, a peculiar choice after the 2018 double album, Icarus Falls – a concept album that compares a disintegrating relationship with the situation of the Greek mythology figure, who died famously flying very close to the sun – failed to expand the international success of his debut in 2016, Mind of Mine.
Zayn’s first two albums were both acts of disappearance of a kind: where his former ex-Directioners colleagues positioned themselves as seasoned hybridizers – Harry Styles balancing pop and rock values in 2019 Thin line, and Niall Horan managing the same with folk-pop in 2017 Flicker and 2020 Heartbreak time – in Mind of Mine, Malik caught the whirlwind of “alternative R&B” behind Frank Ocean’s Orange channel. He called on co-producer Malay of Ocean to create a sound so sensual and flexible, although less impactful, unique, that it fused with the contemporary adult in the style of the 80’s of the time Icaro landed two years later, a change that the second album handled quite competently. If you delay launching for the better part of a year, facilitating public promotion, neglecting the obvious highlights like “Tonight” and “Common” as singles (unwisely choosing to post the status of Icaro banal tracks like “Too Much” and “Entertainer”) and then burying most of those singles deep in a 27-song opus that housed leftovers from the last album didn’t at least suggest a casual disdain for machine fame, naming the next version No one is listening does. Instead of dramatically distancing itself from the commercial failure of Icarus Falls and offering something radically different, as many artists tend to react, with No one is listening, Zayn offers a subtle refinement of the sounds and ideas he has pursued in his solo career so far.
What if Icarus Falls traced a man’s descent into darkness, cataloging the consequences of a break in songs like “Insomnia” and “Entertainer”, the new song details what it took to put him back in place. Starting with the stormy “Calamity”, a kind of comic book recap of how our hero ended up in a difficult situation, No one is listening reflects Zayn’s journey from the separation of longtime girlfriend Gigi Hadid to the reunion that generated the couple’s first child, a girl born in September (and whose name has not yet been revealed, keeping the singer’s penchant for secrecy). The story is told in short, sweet and captivating melodies that mix peaceful guitar and piano productions with the flavors of contemporary R&B, in the process achieving the same feeling of intimacy and honesty that made jewelry like “Pillowtalk” soar. The biggest of these approaches is the ease with which Zayn’s past albums struggled to manage. “Outside” sells reconciliation by mixing R&B cadences and guitar riffs that would not sound out of place in a Modest Mouse song, while Zayn floats from breathless bass notes to a soft falsetto, advancing higher with each line before falling at the end of the chorus and starting again in the next verse with effective perseverance. Zayn leaves No one is listening a stronger man for his efforts, though seemingly minimal.
As moments of desire and supplication like “Best”, “Vibez” and “Out” give way to songs of reconciliation and appreciation, No one is listening get loose. “When Love’s Around”, in collaboration with Syd from the Internet, borrows from dancehall music in a less shocking way than IcaroPartynextdoor’s duet, “Still Got Time”; his tribute to the 1997 Notorious BIG anthem, “Fuck You Tonight”, also reflects the nostalgic track of modern mainstream R&B, while the two singers lament the patience that love demands. “Sweat” is the best 80s revival track on a pop album since “Cool” by Dua Lipa or “Save Your Tears” by Weeknd. The slow, heavy synth-pop beat suggests sex as much as the lyrics; the drum break before the chorus suggests great respect for Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”. “Unfuckwitable” is a moving falsetto workout made from the same fabric as Beyoncé’s “Rocket”, but instead of mumbling about the rush to make love, the source of Zayn’s joy is the ability to be happy keeping to himself. If Malik never openly explains where his head was when making this song and releasing it with even less fanfare than the last album, the feeling that he found a way of life that comforts him – and a way of writing songs that is supported in the strength of your voice and speak calmly and calmly about the ups and downs of a high profile romance – it will be enough.