Mind Of Mine – Zayn

1 December 2020 / by Nate Gurarie
Album Image for Zayn - Mind of Mine (Released 2016-03-25  by RCA)

I can see all the music snobs cringing at the title.

 

But in all seriousness, only last year did I actually find the confidence in my little music snob body to admit to myself that I like One Direction, and Zayn had to go and leave. Zayn held the group together in my opinion. He did most of the vocals and has the best vocals, so I’m not surprised he decided to start a solo career so soon. He also chose to break every One Direction fans’ heart when he released his debut album exactly a year after he left the band partway through the On The Road Again Tour.

 

But here’s the thing: you don’t have to like One Direction to like Zayn’s album. The only similarities are that they both have Zayn’s voice in it. Mind Of Mine is an incredibly sensual, dark, R&B album, it couldn’t be more different from “What Makes You Beautiful”.

 

The first single released for the album, Pillowtalk, has the F-bomb in the chorus, and that is just the beginning of the lyrics you know Zayn was yearning to write during the five years he was in One Direction. If you’re a seasoned One Direction fan/detective, you’ll definitely connect the dots in the song Truth about the cheating rumours back in 2013. There are actually a lot of songs nosey fans could make all sorts of conclusions about, and I’d be happy to discuss them with anyone willing.

 

My all-time favourite song on the album is the final track, “Tio.” I was very curious as to why Zayn would write a song about an uncle, but once you listen to it, you realize very quickly, the slow sexy jam is most definitely not about anyone’s tio. It took about 30 seconds for me to realize it’s an acronym for Take It Off.

 

I would also definitely recommend you listen to or buy the deluxe version of the album. Not only does it mean 4 more Zayn songs, but I think those bonus tracks are some of the strongest tracks on the album.

 

I could rave about Mind Of Mine for another 800 words, but let me leave it at this: Buy This Album. It is a good album. Support Zayn. He is a very kind and talented person. He is more than the guy who left One Direction. I would swallow a box of nails for Zayn Malik.