ZAYN’s new album ‘Nobody Is Listening’ redefines classic R&B
Zayn Malik released his third solo album “Nobody Is Listening” on Jan. 15, after the release of tone-setting singles, “Better” and “Vibez.”
Zayn Malik, former member of English-Irish boyband “One Direction,” constructed plans to release his third solo album, “Nobody Is Listening” on Jan. 15, a week after dropping the single “Vibez.” Since his exit from the band, Malik, known as “ZAYN,” has explored alternative sounds to pop. Seeing that many of his songs fall under the R&B category, it is fair to say he has created a new identity for himself as a solo artist.
The tracklist for his album starts off with “Calamity,” a new style of music different from any song on Malik’s previous solo albums. It is intriguing in the sense that it is classified as a rap song but it is portrayed in a poetic way. He uses metaphors and analogies to portray his experience in the music industry while suffering from severe anxiety.
Moving onto the two singles of the album, “Better” and “Vibez” encapsulate the main spirit of the album. Since they were both singles, they were released prior to the rest of the album and set the tone for the remainder of the songs by establishing the feel or “vibe.” They were also accompanied with music videos that can be viewed on youtube for anyone interested.
In his album, Malik featured different artists in two of his songs: Syd was featured on “When Love’s Around” and Devlin on “Windowsill.” These collabs with other artists help to bring in new music styles that cater to different people’s preferences, such as a more uptempo song with Syd, and rap, with Devlin.
Setting “Nobody Is Listening” apart from his other two albums, Malik has narrowed down the number of songs per album from 29 and 18 to only 11. With fewer songs on the album, he makes up for it in the level of complexity and meaning behind his lyrics. Each song tells a story that can be discovered upon listening to them; there is a clear pattern of being in different stages of romantic relationships and dealing with their highs and lows.
With fewer songs on the album, he makes up for it in the level of complexity and meaning behind his lyrics. Each song tells a story that can be discovered upon listening to them; there is a clear pattern of being in different stages of romantic relationships and dealing with their highs and lows.
— Maddy Tansley ’23
Although the level of complexity in lyrics is evident in most of the songs, some just didn’t have the same effect that others did. For example, “Connexion” and “Windowsill” are still enjoyable songs, it’s just that the meaning behind them isn’t at the same level as some of the other songs on the album.
One of the most interesting and surprising components of Malik’s new album is the fact that he has a writing credit on every single one of the songs. Typically, other mainstream artists might get some of their songs written for them that they then put on their album. The raw emotions that Malik expressed throughout the album is clearly seen through his writing and performance, especially in “Calamity,” where he is the sole writer.
Malik’s album is definitely worth a listen for anyone interested in broadening their music preferences or for any fans of R&B. Before listening to this album, I had not had a keen interest in R&B music, but I found this album to contain different aspects in each song that lend themselves with other genres of music. Personally, after listening to the album I think the strongest songs with the most meaning behind them and the ones I enjoy the most are “Calamity,” “Vibez” and “Tightrope.” The melodies and lyrics blend together in order to create one cohesive sound that echoes throughout the album. Overall, I’d rate this album an 8/10, based on lyric complexity and enjoyability of listening to the songs.
