Zayn Lets His Guard Down on ‘Room Under the Stairs,’ but Teeters Between Reinvention and Reintroduction: Album Review
variety.comThania Garcia When Zayn Malik introduced himself as a member of One Direction — one of the most popular boy bands in history — he did so under the guise of being the broody and mysterious one.
The Bradford-born singer very rarely spoke at length in interviews, and was the first to announce his departure from the group in 2015 to pursue his own solo career.
His debut single, the sex-fueled “Pillowtalk” debuted at No. 1 on UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Its parent LP, “Mind of Mine,” produced by Frank Ocean’s “Channel Orange” producer Malay, fulfilled expectations that he would flex his falsettos and high notes for lucious R&B runs.
The album was a promising launch for a solo career, but Zayn himself was struggling with the anxiety of leaving the overly controlled environment of a manufactured boy band to define what kind of artist he could be on his own. “Mind of Mine” wasn’t very lyrically revealing, but on social media, Zayn issued lengthy explanations as to why and how this anxiety led him to cancel numerous live performances.
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