“I close my eyes, I see a crowd of a thousand tears/I pray to God I didn’t waste all my good years.” Zayn Malik’s second solo album, Icarus Falls, finds him in a contemplative mood and, yes, One Direction fans, dissecting his boy-band past. Subjects covered also include infidelity (“Rainberry”) and drug use (“Back to Life”), but one truly dominates: ❤️. Tackling the passionate and painful, Icarus Falls could soundtrack candlelit bedrooms and stormy breakups, plus most things in between. The hazy, 27-track opus is bookended by a promise pledged (“Let Me” and its soulful assurance) and another broken (the seductive Timbaland collaboration “Too Much”); it exposes a man still figuring out love and maybe his own true voice. But its kitchen-sink approach—we get slow-jam synths, soaring melodies, subtle odes to intimacy—shows he’s definitely trying.
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