“I guess I flew too close to the sun/Myth’ll call me legend, that might be why,” he muses before label-dropping Yves Saint Laurent. But Icarus Falls is actually a double album, cleaved in two by “Icarus Interlude,” which features Zayn hammering home the concept over spindly guitars. And it’s partly that Zayn told British Vogue that some of its tracks were rescued from the sessions for Mind of Mine, which resulted in some “60-something” completed songs. On first glance, the 27-track length of Icarus Falls indicates a data dump, those streaming-age behemoths made to be played on repeat by stat-happy fans while they sleep. Icarus Falls, its followup, treads more of the same ground-a lot more, actually-while also serving up a few surprisingly sublime pop moments. But you can’t blame Malik for reaching without the fall, Icarus wouldn’t have a story to tell at all.Mind of Mine, Zayn’s 2016 solo debut, was steeped in the dry-ice chills of modern R&B, Zayn’s still-lithe tenor guiding the listener through tremulous, sexually charged tracks. As for a compelling one, it fails to take the necessary risks its title suggests. Icarus Falls proves Zayn Malik to be a competent musician. The muffled percussion coupled with (another) electric guitar on “Insomnia” works with his synthesized voice, giving you a small reprieve before launching into the sonic boom of “No Candle No Light.” Both “Fingers” and “Too Much” let the album float gently back to Earth, the latter delivering the pure Timbaland everyone knows and loves.
“Rainberry” keeps Malik solidly within his range, as opposed to such strained moments as “Common,” and the ‘70s beat adds a nice groove.
To get the most out of Icarus Falls, the closing sequence provides your best options. “Natural” comes close to a decent JT vocal impression, though it’s bogged down by the predictability of the lyrics. The guitar riffs on opener “Let Me” add a bit of sentimental flourish that makes Malik’s request resonate in a genuine manner, while the lilt of his voice on the chorus of “You Wish You Knew” offers one of the most intriguing moments. Malik’s voice remains pleasing on the ears and coupled with the right production, it makes for a few pleasant effects. That’s not to say Icarus Falls is entirely bad, more just aggressively okay. But Malik clearly wants to convey heartbreak, romance, and existentialism, and that’s harder to do when you sound better suited for whisper singing. The similarity to one of pop’s emerging talents isn’t all a bad thing, at least if you’re not trying to make something as emotional as rhythm and blues. Despite entering the genre of Usher, Justin Timberlake and Mariah Carey, Malik sounds most similar, at least vocally, to the poppier Troye Sivan. Sonically, Malik goes the R&B route and rides it for all it’s worth.
A track like “There You Are” resembles every song used in a five-second YouTube ad: sweeping, harmless and nowhere near as entertaining as the video you’ve actually queued up. Malik exists as a disconnected and mysterious in the music scene, and these songs feel just as detached from everything as he does. Excessive to a fault, the album suffers not necessarily because it’s too long, but because too much of it lacks any sort of innovation or charisma that could set it apart. It features over 20 different songwriting credits and boasts a few impressive guests. Its first single arrived back in April, approximately a decade ago in 2018-time, and began a months-long rollout towards the album’s release. At a time of the year when many people try to catch up on the material they overlooked in the past 12 months, Zayn Malik has release 27 songs for a total of 127 minutes worth of music on Icarus Falls.Ĭloser to its own name than it realizes, Icarus goes for grandiose in more than length alone. Relying on a compact and cohesive project proved successful for each of these acts, who all ended up on multiple year-end lists. Robyn returned with a nine-song comeback, Tierra Whack gave a 15-minute masterclass in minimalism and Vince Staples took 20 minutes to state his peace. Plenty of musicians kept things short and sweet in 2018.
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