Album: Icarus Falls

Artist: ZAYN

Year: 2018

Reviewed By: glueckschmerz

Zayn Malik, former One Direction member, released his second album "Icarus Falls" on the 14th December 2018. The artist named the album after the myth of Icarus, the seraphic optimist who flew too close to the sun and fell to his death.

The record consists of twenty-seven soundtracks, but is actually a double album, cleaved in two by "Icarus Interlude" – The first thirteen songs illustrates Icarus's flight, while the second portion of the album symbolizes the inevitable fall back down to earth.

The album boasts a varied sense of style. With themes of universality, the album offers a full pop-R&B spectrum and a variety of emotions and feelings, showing that each song is perfectly crafted.

https://youtu.be/J-dv_DcDD_A

"Sweet baby, our sex has meaning," Zayn croons in opener "Let Me", a sweet ballad with buoyant throwback synths, finger snaps and strumming guitar.

https://youtu.be/voG07pt-KYI

"Entertainer" captures the bitter and petty comeuppance caused by heartbreak with stark piano chords accompanied by jittery beats.

https://youtu.be/EB32NhsQGJA

"Good Years" starts with ZAYN singing the chorus with powerful, passionate vocals, accompanied merely by piano. He goes on to deliver strong vocals on both verses, discussing the effects and downside of fame. The singer really shines on the second and successive iterations of the chorus, when vocal harmonies come into the picture, intensifying and propelling the emotion and the passion even further.