After a two year break in between records, Zayn has announced that his third studio album ‘Nobody Is Listening’ will be released NEXT FRIDAY (January 15). Thankfully he hasn’t created another 29 track record unlike ‘Icarus Falls’, and instead has decided to deliver a more compact 11 track body of work. But while the duration may be shorter, his social vision hasn’t shifted.
The lead single ‘Vibez’ sets the foundations for what this record will be which is another exploration into his moody RNB soundscape. Stepping away from the edgy pop sound that filtered through ‘Mind Of Mine’, this new sound is very predictable and repetitive which made ‘Icarus Falls’ ultimately forgettable. This song floats in the same territory and doesn’t really go anywhere sonically. What you hear within the first 30 seconds is pretty much what you get for the rest of the 2 and a half min duration. Snore.
Zayn’s vocals are ridiculously unparalleled to anyone else in his lane, and ‘Vibez’ just doesn’t capture that pure talent at all. As a first single I was waiting for that big vocal or production moment that floored me, but it never came. Like, a gospel influenced climax could have really shifted this song into a whole new direction and given it a rejuvenated energy.