It follows his previous album, Icarus Falls<\/a>, which was released in late 2018. The album was preceded by the release of the singles “Better<\/a>” and “Vibez<\/a>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon release, Nobody Is Listening received generally favourable reviews from critics; the album peaked at 44 on the US Billboard 200 and 17 on the UK Albums Chart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is a shame if Zayn Malik actually believes Nobody Is Listening because they should be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since departing One Direction in 2015, the comparatively low-profile British Pakistani singer has steadily delivered high-concept pop albums that take risks, bear emotions and defy expectations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mind of Mine <\/a>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, on his third solo LP, he finally realizes his full potential as a shape-shifting pop auteur, dialling the production way up and finetuning his falsetto so that it melts into every bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Malik\u02bcs past projects have drawn comparisons to big-budget R&B\/pop stars like Justin Timberlake <\/a>and Justin Bieber, but this album feels against the grain and quietly experimental, as if he spent most of the lockdown vibing to The 1975 and Daniel Caesar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever he has been absorbing is working: The songs here are glossy without being obvious, and as a vocalist, he never sounded so dazzling and bold. Sonically, he manages to cover some serious ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The introspective poetry of \u201cCalamity\u201d bounces right into \u201cBetter,\u201d a hopeful soul-pop tune that would make John Legend proud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And Malik\u02bcs hushed, coy delivery on \u201cWhen Love\u02bcs Around,\u201d a fluttery duet with Syd from The Internet, is quickly outshined by his whinnies and howls on the belt-it-out ballad \u201cConnexion\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \n But the production\u2014playful and unexpected\u2014is especially fun: \u201cRiver Road\u201d is stripped back like a barroom acoustic cut, while the megawatt \u201cSweat\u201d picks right up where Phil Collins\u02bc \u201cIn the Air Tonight\u201d left off\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zayn kicks off his third solo album wondering, as its title indicates, if anybody is listening to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And as you might guess, he\u2019s pretty sure nobody is: \u201cMy brain lives with the cannabis\/Can I resist the dark abyss?\u201d he offers on \u201cCalamity,\u201d a silly spoken-word poem in which the ex-One Direction member turned solo hitmaker sounds like a teenage stoner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Malik has a point. It\u2019s been more than two years since his last album, Icarus Falls<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> an aptly titled 27-track follow-up to his much-sleeker 2016 debut, Mind of Mine.<\/em> Both LPs left listeners with more questions than answers about what Malik wanted out of his post-1D career: chart-topping success or the kind of musical honesty that can lead to 27-song records named after figures from Greek mythology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite its brooding introduction, Nobody Is Listening <\/em>shows both restraint and growth from a new dad who just turned 28, even if the songs seem more reflective of his relationship with ex partner Gigi Hadid than of his journey into fatherhood. Given Malik\u2019s R&B-crooner ambitions, it\u2019s good he can sing the hell out of a love song. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The smooth lead single, \u201cBetter,\u201d is a sweet, intimate portrait of second chances that sets the tone for the coffee-shop-guitar sound of the LP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOutside\u201d sees him tenderly begging for forgiveness, while the falsetto-laden \u201cConnexion\u201d is Malik confirming that he\u2019s ready to \u201cgo head first into the unknown.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Featuring chill vocals from neo-soul singer Syd, the breezy \u201cWhen Loves Around\u201d has Malik hinting at the possibility of marriage while showing off how well he works with the right duet partner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \n There are still some moments of irrepressibly horny R&B, recalling Mind of Mine.<\/em> \u201cWindowsill\u201d is both the dirtiest and catchiest song on the album \u2014 much better than the diluted \u201cSweat,\u201d though that song\u2019s \u201cIn the Air Tonight\u201d drum fill right before the chorus gives it some much-needed energy.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The record reaches its peak with the one-two punch of \u201cTightrope\u201d and \u201cRiver Road,\u201d delicate closing statements and two of Malik\u2019s best songs to date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The former is an inspired love song that finds power in its simplicity, with the singer drawing meaning out of the repeated phrase \u201cSomething told me it was you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRiver Road\u201d encroaches on Leon Bridges\u2019 retro-soul territory as Malik sings hopefully about his future, delivering the most sobering vocal performance on a largely subdued bedroom project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If he really thinks nobody is listening, that\u2019s fine by him; there\u2019s only one person he has in mind anyway, and there\u2019s nothing more honest in pop music than that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Zayn Malik wanted to leave behind his image of a boyband and wanted to have total control of his music; one of the things he hated most about One Direction was the fact, in his own word, the music was generic as fuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I mean, is pop music, that\u2019s pretty much the definition of pop music, but that doesn’t mean it was bad. I think the music of one direction is going to become classic in the future, and Zayn was part of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He recently posted an IG video singing \u201cNight Changes\u201d from album 4, the last album Zayn recorded in the band. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All Zayn\u2019s music till this album, in my opinion, wasn’t that much different from 1D, except more R&B, but his biggest Hits, \u201cPillow Talk\u201d, \u201cI don\u2019t want to live forever,\u201d and \u201cDust till down\u201d sound pop and generic as fuck as he said it. Until this album, I can hear more experimental, stepping away from pop and not doing generic R&B. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His first track, \u201cCalamity,\u201d including his \u201crap\u201d introduction, is actually really good. You can almost \u201csee\u201d Zayn smoking weed as he says the line: \u201cMy brain lives with cannabis<\/a>. Can I resist the dark abyss?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adele twitted once the album was released that she couldn\u2019t stop listening to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I can’t say I got the same effect, but it definitely was one of my favourite albums of 2021, and it is a great album to stream when you want to chill. Streaming on Apple Music, Spotify and Youtube Music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out the blog about the Soundtrack of “Legends of the Fall” <\/a>by James Horner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Zayn](\"https:\/\/fellowstreamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/53.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Apple Music’s description of Zayn’s Nobody is Listening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Zayn](\"https:\/\/fellowstreamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Untitled-design-9.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Zayn](\"https:\/\/fellowstreamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/55.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Review by Rolling Stones Magazine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Zayn](\"https:\/\/fellowstreamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/56.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Zayn](\"https:\/\/fellowstreamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/54.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"zayn](\"https:\/\/fellowstreamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/zayn-art-wiork.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a>My thoughts on Zayn\u2019s Nobody is Listening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Zayn](\"https:\/\/fellowstreamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/zayn-solo.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIf you want to own a CD Version of Zayn’s album, click here<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Best Tracks <\/h2>\n\n\n\n